Imagine

So, it seems I've been a bit of a broken record around the house lately. A few weeks back, Bela and I were talking. I must have said something dreary, like Winter is killing me. I long for Spring. Which sparked a conversation.

What is it you love about each season? I asked. We spoke mostly of Spring puddles, Summer swimming, Autumn camping, Winter sledding. But we also reminisced about all our trips to the Midwest fruit belt. Oh Michigan we do love you so in Summer.

Strawberries - we do love shortcake, freezer jam, and tarts. And these big juicy berries are delicious frozen, eaten in the dead of Winter, but the picking is a bit hairy. You have to stoop over, squat, scoot along, and the day we choose to pick Strawberries usually happens to be the first scorcher of the summer.

Blueberries are a bit higher off the ground, and delicious to snack on while picking, but they are tiny. Do you have any idea how many blueberries it takes to fill one small pail? Do you have any idea how quickly and how many my youngest can consume while we're picking? It's a brutal task.

Now blackberries are Bela's favorite. So big. So sweet/tart. Stain your hands. Bushes are high. And blackberry time coincides with early fall raspberry picking as well, although the latter tend to be small and crumbly and good only for jam.

When Bela asked me what my favorite was, though, I said peaches. There's nothing sweeter to me, and it takes four times as long to drive out to the orchards as it does to fill numerous buckets. It's fast and clean, and they are fun to can and freeze, as well as to eat out of hand.

You can imagine my delight when Bela drew me this picture of a peach orchard, with instructions to "Imagine".  

This is for you, Mom. Think about peaches. It will make you happier in Winter.