Memorial day and peach-pickin'

I never got to pick anything from any kind of tree when I was a kid. Wait - I take that back. I literally just now remembered that there was a pomegranate tree that grew in my next-door-neighbor's backyard. So, pardon the memory lapse--I totally got to pick pomegranates from time to time because her tree grew along our fence and hung over quite a bit on our side. It felt like stealing, but only a little, cause it's not like she even ate them all or cared to tell us not to. I have a feeling she must have known. And besides, it was very rare that I had any kind of urge for pomegranate seeds. Juicy as they were, they were terribly messy, and were kind of a bother to break into.

Although that technically qualifies as a "picking" experience, it really doesn't. I never went to an orchard of any kind carrying a basket to pick apples or pears.  I mean, I don't feel like it was some childhood right of passage that I missed out on, either, so there's no ill feelings toward my parents for not providing me with that kind of experience to later have sweet memories of in adulthood. Nope, that didn't matter at all. 

But when I heard of a farm not too far from us that has special picking weekends for peaches, I could not pass up the opportunity to take the boys and give them the little adventure I never had. Last year was the first time we went to the farm and it was during their "Peach Festival." This year we completely missed the festival, and only had time for picking. But really, the picking is the most fun part of all, anyway. 

My ISO settings were way off, but love them here searching for the "juicy ones".

We picked, we complained about the heat, (well, only the boys did) we paid for our peaches, we tried unsuccessfully making small talk with the teen staff on duty, then we ate some of our purchase. They were juicy, soft, and so sweet. The boys had juice dripping to their elbows and they could not, at least not at that moment, have been happier even if the Jonai had shown up to sing "Year 3000" and asked them to sing along with them in front of all their friends at school. 

After the sweet mess, which was relatively easy to clean up considering how they looked as they ate, we searched the farmstore for the amazing orange blossom honey we got there last year, only to be confronted with the tragic news that it had been completely sold out. 

"Maybe in October at the fall festival," was all she could say, and I was disappointed. I used the honey for one purpose only, and sore throats are only bearable with the Orange Blossom kind. 

Good news? Me and the fam now have a new little tradition, and it's really super fun and so not something we ever get to do anywhere else. More good news? The disappointment didn't last long because the boys were thrilled with our box of peaches and I couldn't help but think of all the yummy ways we could use them. 

The first one included ice cream. Breyer's French Vanilla. And it was fantastic. 

(side note--really strange that Dreyer's and Breyer's are actual names for competing ice cream brands. Kinda? Right?)

Happy Memorial Day!