Thursday, 28 January 2010

On The Orchard Part Four

Peaches, of the imaginatively named "204" variety, grown specifically for canning, shown here ready for harvest. Peaches have a fluffy skin, which may be attractive when you admire a fine peach and bite into its juicy ripe flesh, but this same fine fluff causes a great deal of vexation for the poor peach pickers, as the fluff causes much itching, especially around the neck, nose, and belly. Liberal application of talcum powder allieviates the itch somewhat, but for some pickers a peach is something they refuse to pick.

Sunday, 17 January 2010

On The Orchard Part Three

The apricots have all been harvested and sent to market. Canning peaches begin tomorrow with a variety bearing the imaginative name "204". Pears are still another ten days or so away. Meanwhile my own modest accumulation of pots and plots outside my workers hut is starting to reward my efforts, this year as well as a few vegetables I tried my hand at growing flowers, here are some of the results, as well as a picture or two from around the yard......