Apricots

On Tuesday I picked apricots, and picked more apricots, and then picked even more!

This is one tree beside Bert's house, one of many!

Here's a close-up of a branch.

Down by the chicken coop there's an old 1955 International truck Bert parked in 1982, he says it has gas in it and it still runs! I had a heck of a time opening the door and when I did WOW! The spiderwebs and mouse turds were pretty thick! But this did not deter my inquisitive 4 year old, he hopped on up there and started pulling on that ol' steering wheel like he had parked it there himself! Sydney, on the other hand, took a bit more of a "hands off" approach....yeesh girls eh?

Sydney sitting pretty.

"Look Mama! A spider!"
Don't mind the dirt, or the bare feet (he was clean and had shoes on when we left our house).

Jevan looking quite aged.

The apricot trees have had a few years to grow around, through, and under.

I made apricot pie filling (it's a peach filling but I substituted with apricots) with most of what we picked.

Grandma took quite a bit home and Jaycee kept a 5 gallon bucket full. My steamer finally arrived in the mail, shipping damage meant I had to return the first one, and I was getting worried it wasn't going to be here in time for apricots. Last night I used up what apricots I had left and steamed 5 quarts of apricot juice. I've never used a steamer before and promptly found out the clip gets pretty darn hot! But I am amazed at how easy it is to use compared to the old jelly bag method. I can't wait for the grapes to be ready!