Plums, plums and more plums......

Well, that's two plum trees finished, just one more to go now.......the baby tree, which didn't have many plums this year, but it did have more than last year so every year it gets stronger, it finished last week really, I think the birdies got most of them and they were teeny little plums any way, really sweet though, I look forward to it maturing over the next few years.

The gorgeously huge Satsuma tree is finally finished, we can not get to any more without risking the Tones falling from the tree and that definitely would not be a pretty sight. We tried hard to get them all though, the Tones had started sawing branches off in order to get to the plums left, he was pretty determined not to let the birds have any more!

He tried all manner of ways to get to the big buggers and some of them were huge, first there was the butterfly net, this works really well, then it was the ladder with the butterfly net, then it was climbing the actual tree with the butterfly net - he said he felt like he was 10 years old again, except not quite as agile and certainly not as fearless. In frustration he would shake the branch and they'd fall from the sky and split upon impact with the ground. I'd groan and complain that that wasn't nice, it was a waste and could he be more careful - ha ....as if, he was getting pretty irritated with me by that stage as each time it happened I'd be there picking them up and putting them in my basket saying 'that's a split one, that's another split one etc., oh careful....nup that's another one'......hee hee, I soon learnt to shut the f up otherwise he'd down tools! No sense of humour - hee hee.

The 'Tones' getting ready to get the last of the plums from the Satsuma tree.

Here he is up the ladder with the butterfly net.

The basket of plums.

Just showing off now.

You can see how big some of them were and they were so juicy. Co-ordinated toe nail polish!

Cooking ready to become Red Plum Jelly.

My favourite preserving cookbook - I just love this book, so inspiring.

So, this year we have so far had, Black Doris Plum Jelly (with much more to come), Red Plum Jelly, Plum and Frangipani Tarts, Plum Fruit Paste and today we are cooking up a storm in the kitchen with Plum Sauce and the house smells divine, even the child is liking the smell - now that hasn't happened before when making savoury!

Tomorrow, I might just show off some more.