Pomegranate season

In past years, we didn't get many pomegranates on our tree, or if we did, the squirrels got them all. But this year, we've had a pomegranate bonanza. George made pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, pomegranate granita, and of course we have plenty of pomegranate arils. The pom molasses has graced much of the chicken and salmon we've eaten the last few weeks, and the arils have topped broccoli and wax beans as well as cereal and yogurt.

Apricots ripening

We play a game of "chicken" with our precious apricots. If we let them stay on the tree to ripen, we'll lose them to the squirrels and birds, so we let them stay on as long as we dare, pick them earlier than we'd prefer, and let them ripen in the window under Buddha's placid gaze. They are quite sweet and flavorful when they can ripen.

Apricots!

We planted our Katy apricot tree in 2002. It has never produced more than two or three apricots a year, which we unwillingly share with the birds and the squirrels. This year, after 17 years, we had an unexpectedly abundant crop! No idea if it was simply age, or last year's (lack of) pruning, or the late spring rains this year. But we're thrilled!

We've got a few peaches...

When it's peach time, our abundance overflows!

First peaches, right on time

Our Tropic Snow peach tree has been a reliably sweet, juicy, and early white freestone peach. It blooms around Martin Luther King Day in January, and we usually have peaches just after Memorial Day. Here are this year's first fruits.

Peaches are extra early this year

Our Tropic Snow peach tree is reliably early (it always blooms around Martin Luther King Day), but this has been an early season across California, and our early peaches are in even earlier than usual. These peaches are headed for a cobbler, along with some raspberries that George picked in his Mom's backyard.