Saturday 11 June 2016

Sumer is icumen in...

....well, three days of it at least.   We had three perfect June days last week before the weather began to go downhill.   Now it is still warm but also damp and misty with a lot of cloud.

As Caitlin Moran suggests in today's Times, we have our Summer clothes out so rarely here in the UK that we have forgotten where we left them at the end of last Summer.
This for me is the real taste of Summer.   I look forward so much to the day when I go down to the Friday market and see that the peaches, nectarines and apricots are back.   I can't get enough of them and, of course, we don't grow any of them in the UK - at least not seriously.   But it is good to see that people like Sue and Dawn with their polytunnels are making a stab at growing such things.

It has not rained today; the weather is far from perfect, no sun has emerged but it is fine and warm.   Our local church is holding a Flower Festival to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday and at lunch time were holding a Hog Roast.  Friends have gone but I am not  a lover of pork and also have no desire to see a whole pig roasting (which I assumed was what I would see).   I admit to being a rather squeamish meat eater at the best of times.

Coffee out with friend W this morning and out to lunch with three friends tomorrow while the farmer walks with his walking group.   Can't be bad, can it?

I am going out into the garden now to sow my hardy annuals now that the weather is a little more damp.

18 comments:

Mac n' Janet said...

Can't imagine not growing peaches, but then we live in the Peach State Georgia and they're everywhere. I'm not a big fan, but Mac is, I prefer apricots.

Derek Faulkner said...

Apricots are grown in Kent but I don't know how successfully. As nice as Peaches and Apricots are from the market they still can't match the ones that we eat when abroad, much larger and juicier.
Nice to see that the Farmer feels well enough to go walking.

Maria said...

Verona is a peach growing area; I go to a farmer at 3 kilometers from my house who sells big juicy, just-off-the-tree, peaches. I pay from 50c, 80c or €1,00/kg, the price depends on the size and on the level of maturation of the peach.
Greetings Maria x

Terra said...

I would definitely go to the hog roast, I bet it is delicious. And how good to celebrate the Queen with a flower show. I was at the Farmers Market earlier today, and bought organic blueberries, Swiss chard, small potatoes and a bouquet of Forget me nots. We love peaches and plums too.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Peaches are too sticky for me!

"Summer is a cumin in" is used very effectively at the end of "The Wicker Man" when Edward Woodward is burnt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCObZ6Kodi0

John Going Gently said...

Looking at your photo i wanted to say that you have a lovely pear ( pair)
But couldnt

Joanne Noragon said...

It's not peach season here, at least not local peaches. We live in a part of the country that used to be a fruit basket, but the output has been eclipsed by agribusiness. However, there are an abundance of orchards and vineyards along the edges of the great lakes, and there is nothing finer than a warm, juicy peach in August, straight from an Ashtabula orchard.

angryparsnip said...

I do eat meat but mostly veggie, fish. But I do not want a see a whole pig roasted either.
I have heard it is very good cooked that way.
It has been so hot and sunny here in Tucson and now humid because the start of monsoon season is next Wednesday, we hope !

cheers, parsnip

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Ohhhh yumm! We has raspberries, strawberries, Ranier cherries, Bing cherries and today nectarines and peaches - all local - I love summer in NW Washington.

Barbara said...

Oh...peaches! mmmm Nothing says summer like a fresh, juicy peach.
The peach crop here in the Valley suffered a dreadful late season freeze. It remains to be seen if we will indeed have any local peaches. Sad days indeed.

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

MMMMmmmmm peaches in late August, grown in Ontario. That is the only time I will buy fresh peaches. It is strawberry and asparagus season right now. Too bad you don't like pork. I have been to a number of pig roasts over the years and they are always a good time and a good "feed"! Enjoy your nice weather! -Jenn

Cro Magnon said...

I grow all three of those fruits; not always successfully.

Bovey Belle said...

I bought peaches and a whole small box of cherries yesterday from Abergwili (where such things are sensibly priced!) I like to buy boxfuls of summer fruits and freeze them for the winter months.

I hope you are recovered from your fall. I agreed with everything you said in your last post, btw!

The Weaver of Grass said...

I do so agree with Derek that the peaches etc. which we buy on our markets do not in any way compare with those from the Mediterranean countries if you pick them straight from the tree. I will never forget my first orange in Marrakech!

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I'm squeamish about eating peaches (!) - there's something about that slightly furry skin that sets my teeth on edge. A nice piece of roast pork I can deal with. Somehow it's difficult to associate a hog roast with Her Majesty.

Coppa's girl said...

Living as we do, by the Mediterranean, it's disappointing that the peaches and nectarines we have here in the local supermarkets resemble cricket balls, and are frequently the size of golf balls. They look beautiful, but are mostly hard and totally tasteless. No matter how you store them, they never seem to ripen properly before they rot. They weren't always like this - at one time they were lush, juicy and full of flavour. Nowadays the best ones are exported and we get the left-overs ! Pineapple, grapes, kiwi and oranges seem to be much better.

Sue said...

We have two young trees that will produce a dozen or so peaches. Our neighbour has several trees and urges us to help ourselves. So many of his peaches end up rotting on the ground - it seems such a waste.

Shaista said...

Love the reference to Caitlin Moran - she is reason enough to get The Times!!
It's been an age since I visited your blog - happy to see you still blogging and doing so regularly. I'm super impressed.
The fruits look amazing - and when summer finally comes around, we can attempt to wear our summer clothes - not yet though!! I'm wearing a jumper as I type :)