We have peaches! So many peaches! Last year we had a bumper crop of apples, and this year, it’s peaches. Our small peach tree is feeling burdened; one of its heavy branches leaned all the way to the ground and broke. 

This year, they’re small, but they’re ripe and ready to pick. We called out the boys to help pick before the Japanese beetles get them. We filled bowl after bowl after bowl! Boys had to empty them on the kitchen counter because we needed them to refill two, if not three times.

Morris climbed the tree and picked the ones too high to reach. 

And I spent a lot of time picking from everywhere.

Just a guesstimate, but I think we harvested around 400-500 peaches!

Of course, they all came at once, and peaches don’t last very long, so I had a lot to do! That weekend, I made peach salsa, a delicious treat! The recipe called for onion, red pepper, salt, vinegar, jalapeno, and cumin. 

I made peach muffins and peach cake. I made peach pie filling – with sugar, tapioca, and corn starch – and froze it (in pie tins). And, I cut up peaches and froze them in baggies. Plus, we gave away many, many, many, and everyone commented on how delicious they were. 

I give credit to the bees that took over the squirrel nest in our big oak tree. They were busy this spring!