The early bird

Three peach trees have borne fruit. The first, an early variety, was covered with beautiful peaches that turned a lovely reddish color. They smelled wonderful. This was the year we would outsmart the squirrels and get to the peaches first.

Yet somehow two days elapsed before we went back, and by then only five peaches were left. With the exception of one not-quite-ripe peach dropped at the base of the tree, there was no sign it had been laden with fruit. Exactly like fools closing the proverbial barn door once the horses had fled, we covered the tree with a giant net. Even then the squirrels managed to get in.

A second, bigger tree, grew heavy with ripening peaches and the squirrels began to test them. We found partially chewed peaches beneath the tree. This time we got a net over it before the tree was stripped. The squirrels managed to reach through the net, eating as much as they could before the peaches dropped out of their grasp. Finally, Cherisse decided to pick what was left—only a couple were perfectly ripe, but she ate those and declared them to be delicious. The rest are ripening safely indoors.

Our own peaches

One more battleground (tree) to go.