Peach Picking

Last week, one of our students brought in a box of fresh peaches to share with those on campus that day.  Oh my goodness, they were so good and juicy and, delightfully, the kind of peach that is easy to slice and doesn't stick to the pit.

She was like a giddy child describing the orchard they went to in Walpole, NH. 

Wait. What?  "You picked these yourself in NH?"  I had no idea that peaches would grow this far north, let alone ones this big and beautiful!  She couldn't find enough adjectives to describe how happy those fruit-laden branches made her.

Well, she sold me.  I had to go get some!  Kristiina and I packed up the kids on Saturday and headed to Walpole (just about 30 minutes south of us) to see what this peachy heaven was all about.

It was our intent to fill that box she's carrying to over flowing!

Oh boy.  This was the first [unappetizing] peach I encountered...  one with a long, moldy beard. Eew.  I wasn't put off, though...

Ah, this is better.  "Can you reach one, Kingston?"

Mmmm, you can almost smell them, can't you?  No?  Well - they smell as fresh as summertime.

Ooooh... no wonder the student was so excited!

We spent about an hour reaching and plucking to fill up that box, and Kristiina ended up with a horrible reaction to the peach fuzz.  She said it felt like her skin was on fire... like she had rolled around in fiber glass.  Oooo, poor babe.  Once we finally made our way back to the fruit stand, she was able to splash some water on herself in the rest room, and that helped some.  One of the workers there said it's not uncommon; it used to happen to him all the time when he was a picker and he'd spend every break swimming in the lake to get it off.

Me?  The one whose skin is ridiculously sensitive?  No reaction at all (so weird); the kids either - thankfully! (Yes, sweet Aria is sleeping.)

Here's a branch bent so low from the weight of the fruit that Kingston was able to pick a few of his own.

He had just plucked off the stem and smelled it.  He always smells the deliciousness of the outdoors!  I love it.

Almost full... and what a beautiful location.  Wish the sun were out a bit more with a bluer sky (but then it would have been even hotter... as it was, we were working up a sweat).

Yum!

Lovliness near the fruit stand...

It was just gray all day, but still beautiful...

Then, late afternoon, on our way to the kids' house... this happened.  We dodged the raindrops and enjoyed a delicious, homemade gnocchi dinner at Nic and Kristiina's.


Kristiina and I split the box - about 12.5 pounds for each of us - and we're going to save a few to eat fresh and process the rest into canned peaches, peach butter, peachy-tangy bbq...  recipes to come later.