first harvest

Cherries. This is the first crop of the summer from our two small cherry trees. We planted them two years ago, and this year at least one flowered profusely in May, and now by July, those blossoms are already fruit. For several weeks we talked of getting netting to protect our small take from the birds, but we rallied too late. The birds have already feasted on a good portion. We picked the eight cherries remaining and ate them with some beautiful, fat cherries from a local orchard for lunch.

We are reminded of the cherry tree outside of the house we used to live in Italy. Old, tall, and elegant, come early summer it would be laden with this magical and juicy fruit. We would pick baskets full and become drunk on cherries, eating them by the handful in the afternoon shade of our balcony.

Cherries are delectable in many ways: in a pie, studded in a sugared flatbread, simmered into a sauce for sweet cream icecream. We like them best as they are, served in a bowl over ice to keep them and us cool on a hot day.