LIFE AT THE COTTAGE

Friday, June 25, 2010

Fresh Picks - Part 1



There are many reasons I love my quaint little farmstead. 

One of them is the delicious, fresh, organic fruit I get to pick right from my own yard!


It's so exciting to see the orchard trees fill with blooms each spring.  The lovely, fragrant blossoms are a wonderful prelude to the tasty treats to come.


When the plum trees–near the log barn–are in full bloom, it is pure delight to lounge beneath them and bask in their beauty, as I breathe in their sweet perfume.


That joy is paralleled only by the taste of the sweet fruit I'm enjoying right now–picked after a gentle summer rain.


Once the plum blossoms have nearly faded away, the peach blooms begin to burst forth.


The Carolina blue sky makes such a wonderful backdrop for the pretty pink flowers.


What fun it is to watch the fuzzy little peaches begin to form on the branches.


At last!  They're finally beginning to blush ever so slightly. 

None too soon, there will be sweet, juicy peaches to enjoy here at the cottage. 

YUMMM!!!  I can't wait!


The blossoms of our Asian pear tree are some of my favorites.


When they make their first appearance in spring, they're disguised as cute little cottonballs protruding from bright green stems. 


At first, the fruit is no larger than small crabapples.


Currently, they're about the size of golf balls.

It will be late July before the first pear is ripe enough to eat.  But the delectable fruit from that tree will be available through the first weeks of fall.


The cherry trees bloom in unison with the pear.


But, we have to keep a more diligent watch as the fruit of these trees ripens. 

Though they parade a beautiful color in the image above, they're not quite ready to harvest–at that point.


Lookin' better here, but still not quite ripe.


Peek-a-boo; it's a pleasure to see you!

By the time they present this vibrant coat of red, it's a race against time to see who will get the most cherries–us or our feathered friends.

Don't you just love our cheery cherries?!

Be sure to visit again for part two of the Brambleberry Cottage fresh picks.  ; )

In the meantime, I'm linking up with Cindy for Show and Tell Friday, Tootsie for Flaunt Your Flowers - Ferilizer Friday, and Beverly for Pink Saturday, Susan for Metamorphosis Monday, and Mary for Mosaic Monday.

27 comments:

  1. I love fresh fruit in the summertime too.....especially peaches. Must be the Georgia Peach in me! Hope you are having a wonderful summer! Lynn

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  2. Very fortunate indeed! We have berries from several different types of brambles that I enjoy picking on mornings like we have here today - and some I will even share with my flock of hens!

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  3. The flowers are beautiful and lucky you on the fruit bounty as well.

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  4. How lovely to be able to pick all those lovely fruits.

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  5. GREAT PHOTOS! Thanks for sharing. mmmmmmm, I'd like some of those cherries right now! susan

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  6. you are lucky to have almost an entire fruit department in your own back yard!!! what a great post..I will consider linking into your parties soon friend...thanks for the invite!

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  7. Hi Liz, these pictures are simply stunning. They are gorgeous.

    Happy Pink Saturday!

    Hugs, Barb ♥

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  8. Oh, gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! And how wonderful to have all of that fruit. You lucky girl!

    Happy Pink Saturday to you...

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  9. What a lovely lesson on cycles of Life! We had plums, pears, several kinds of peaches and one cherry tree on our farm in MS.

    The cherries were quite small, outwitting every pitter AND all fingers, so I just made cobblers and crisps with a warning: Watch out for PITS!

    Everyone did, getting rid of the pesky little things, and that was one of our most requested desserts---that cherry cobbler with the fun built in.

    Thank you for the bright, beautiful memories!

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  10. Hi Your orchard looks fabulous! I do love cheery cherries... the Rainers are just coming into season here, Mmmmm. We can;t grow peaches but those fuzzy little guys sure are cute:-)
    Bella

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  11. Beautiful! You are so lucky! I wish I had room for fruit trees. My favorite fruit is the Santa Rosa Plum! Those cherries look beautiful!

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  12. Wow Liz,
    This was a very 'fruitful' post. Your place seems to be bloomin all over!

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  13. Your 'quaint little farmstead' is absolutely, totally, awesomely, wonderful. Will you adopt me? I'm a big aged, a bit slow out the gate, but i'm a nice old gal.
    Giggle.
    I love your post.

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  14. What beautiful photos. I especially like the cherry shots. I'm in the market for a new camera and you're making me want to run out and buy one this morning!

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  15. I love your fruity little post. Great pix by the way. Happy Days to you!

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  16. Beautiful!!!! I also have two cherry trees by my driveway and never get but a couple of hands full of cherries!!! But they are so beautiful!!!

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  17. Beautiful! What a lovely place to live..surrounded by beauty! ♥

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  18. Such beautiful pictures and...
    the fruit is amazing!!

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  19. Gorgeous fruits trees and the blossoms are so pretty. Great photos!

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  20. How stunning, each photograph is spectacular.
    Happy Mosaic Monday.
    Karen

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  21. Wow how gorgeous! Love all these.
    Great mosaic as well.
    Have a great day.
    xo

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  22. What beautiful images - like storybook pictures!

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  23. Thank you for the lovely tour...so beautiful.

    Marie @ Sally Lee by the Sea
    http://nauticalcottagblog.com

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  24. How wonderful to get fresh fruit. You must have been busy to preserve them with that abundant fruit to harvest.

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Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to comment.