Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Joys of Summer: Fruit Fresh from the Tree!
















Luke and I are in Alabama with Jamie and Thad and Levi.  I leave today to drive back to Michigan.  


We were here June 11 for his birthday party, stayed a week and took her home with us for ten or eleven days, and last Thursday, we arrived here to bring her back and stayed for a week to slurp up some more of Levi.  


SO, for a total of nearly a month, I have seen Levi EVERY DAY!

I've very much enjoyed our time with Levi.

Sunday we took a drive to Tennessee to a good-sized flea market there.   

I did enjoy it, but surely you people in the south melt in the summers?  I mean, I was dripping sweat just standing still!  

I know we freeze in the winter, but our summers in the north are generally more mild...and temperatures in the upper nineties are the exception and not the rule.  

HATS OFF to you who endure the hellish flames of summer heat in the deep south!  ;0)


But you are so FAR ahead of us in your crops.  Your corn is tall, has tassled, and is full of good-sized ears.  You're already picking peaches and apples.  Tomatoes and squash and green beans galore have been coming out of Jamie's garden!




The flea market had a section with fresh produce and farm stock.  That was a fun section to visit.  

It was there where I bought these beautiful, freshly picked peaches just less than perfectly ripe...I was glad about that because they'd have time to ripen and for me to get them home.  


I also got some fresh, crispy, tart green apples from a sweet little granny wearing a sunbonnet.  






My heart melts each time I go there, and she's  usually selling whatever is fresh from her garden or orchard, and she also sells preserves of all kinds.  I've bought her muscadine jelly before...yummy.

Luckily, she was dressed for the weather had on her little loose cotton house dress and was under a canopy, and grandpa was with her in his overalls, and they were cuter 'n a bug's ear:  the epitome of what I picture of southern grandparents:  hardworking, resourceful, and sweet...



Jamie's impatiens sit on her porch inside an old tool carrier with a rope handle....







Tell me, what is YOUR favorite food to make using fresh peaches?

8 comments:

Eileen said...

Peach cobbler! But most of all, I just like eating fresh peaches! :0)

Our summers are hot too here in northern California. We have been over 100 degrees most of the week.

Have a safe trip back home!

Tanya said...

Kansas is hot hot hot right now .... humidity is terrible. Having to water every day! I can't imagine having 90's being high....we are having that triple digits a lot lately.
What a wonderful month you have had with that cutie patootie Levi. You are going to be so lonely Grandma!
I'm going to put my vote in for a good ole' peach cobbler!
Hope you had a safe trip home!
Blessings and hugs,
Tanya

Anonymous said...

A good ole' churn of fresh peach ice cream! Hard to beat in the scorching south.

Brenda said...

Hey I'm not sure how to do this but want to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Love your Blog Appreciate your Patriotism. Hope you enjoy your day. May God continue to Bless you always. Love Skip & Brenda

Joy said...

Late summer when we are able to buy peaches, I just eat 'em fresh. Nothing like that juice running down your fingers. They are so expensive, I can't afford to buy more than 3!

Aimee said...

Wonderful photos of apples and, especially, peaches! Now you have me hungry for them and we are still a long ways off from a peach harvest in the PNW :(

I like peaches fresh, or sliced and warmed up with -- maybe -- a bit of raw sugar on them! Yum!

Re: Caylee--I was shocked when the verdict came in; I still am! I just don't get it.

Blessings,
Aimee

mary your sis said...

Happy Birthday from your always late sister! The photos are absolutely beautiful! The peaches in the top photo have a golden peach glow! What amazing color in all the photo's. My favorite dessert is peach cobbler made in a cast iron frying pan. I also like to bake pork roasts with a little bit of peach preserves on top. It makes the pulled pork BBQ taste much richer...

Mandy H said...

Peaches'n' Cream pie.....my alltime favorite way to eat my peaches.