peaches, again

August is here and with it comes the explosion of our peach tree. June Gloom did not arrive as it usually does here on the coast; and I believe the increase in sunshine sped the fruiting of the tree by a few weeks. We were away on vacation for the last week and 1/2 - and I knew I would arrive home to many peaches fallen and rotten and a tree still overloaded. Yesterday morning was my first chance to get to the business - and I went out armed with a kitchen spoon for the ones on the ground and a bag for the picking.

I first scooped more than 30 that had fallen - and then more than 50 from the tree. After making a peach cobbler for dessert (a big cobbler for the 5 children, Jay and me, and my sister in law and husband who had come to help with some canning) we had more than 11 pounds of peaches left over. The scalding, peeling, and prepping to cook them took us until 9:15 - and then Jay and I took on cooking by ourselves. After over an hour of bubbling they were still only the consistency of peach sauce. Nearly 11 PM by this time we had to accept that peach sauce was going to have to be good enough - and we sterilized the jars and canned it all into 11 pint jars. I made pancakes this morning and spooned some sauce over them - it is truly plate-licking delicious.

It seems that, soon enough, there will be another 11 pounds of peaches to pick. Maybe we can get them to preserve consistency the next time...