Peaches

Three years ago I started a small orchard with 2 pears and a peach tree. The first year the peach tree bloomed and sprouted hundreds of peaches.  Unfortunately some critters (I suspect squirrels) came in one night and pirated every single baby peach away.  The second year we had a very late frost that killed all fruit development.  This year the tree was a mass of beautiful pink blossoms which then created a mass of baby peaches.  

I was not very hopeful that they would mature without being absconded by some marauder but mature they did. Hundreds of them.  So many I had to brace some of the branches that were threatening to break under the weight.

Every day for the past 2 weeks I have been picking a huge bucket of them as they ripen.  But since they are not bred with preservatives they rot very quickly. So we have been in peach eating, giving away and processing mode.

Peach jam. Check.

Sliced peaches in canning jars.  Check.

Dehydrating peaches. Check.

Processing peaches is a very messy business and I am glad that the yield is finally starting to slow down.

But silly me, last year I was convinced that I would never get peaches to survive so I bought a second tree because I just liked the shape and flower of it.  So next year, critters willing, we will have twice as many peaches to deal with. Yikes.

For Eddie

There is a dog who needs some help.

He has suffered much abuse in his life.  He had his tail chopped off, was hung from a tree by a metal snare round his waist and left to die, and finally someone tried to kill him by hitting him over the skull with a metal bar with a spike on it.  They missed his skull and hit the top of his nose instead, hence the hole.  You can read more about him here https://sweffling.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/romanian-rescue-dog-2/

No living thing deserves to be treated with such violence.

Fortunately there are angels like Susanna in this world who love and  take care of those hurting animals, even when they themselves have heavy things on their plate.  

I have known Susanna as a blogging friend for a little while now and know her to be an extremely compassionate, empathetic person.  She so badly wants to help Eddie but as any of us who live with furry animals know, even routine vet care can be expensive.

Susanna has (reluctantly) started a crowdfunding page for Eddie. If you are able and so inclined, please kick in a few dollars*** for Eddie.

https://www.leetchi.com/c/money-pot-eddie-22587947

*** Susanna lives in England and therefore the funding page is in pounds.  I had no idea what the exchange rate was so I tried giving 30 pounds.  That turned out to be $39.10 on my credit card.  You can use that as a reference.

Full of Grace

After critters ate my entire first planting of green beans, the second crop is now ready for harvest.

Today's pickings

Visited Peachie in Boston where we went kayaking in the Charles River.  Very cool. We’ve decided that every trip should include a kayaking adventure.  

All the pink sailboats in the background were a kid's camp learning to sail.

Toured the inspirational Kennedy Museum and Library. I was not a big fan of the man, but greatly admired his politics.   

Back in the car for a quick visit to see my sister and family and finding a new route thereby avoiding all the Yankee Stadium traffic.

Had my yearly physical and was determined to be in pretty good shape. Cholesterol down, weight down, height steady and EKG strong.  Except for the increasingly irritating arthritis and possible reflux issues, I feel great.  I am hoping to make it to October which will mark the first whole year without a surgery in the last 5 years. Fingers crossed.

Good health is something I no longer take for granted and so I am particularly grateful today to still be able to enjoy friends, family and the great outdoors.