Up to our necks in plums – again

Up to our necks in plums – again

Regular readers may remember a post of the same name from this time last year. A slightly different scenario this time around however. Last year we were overwhelmed with yellow plums. They have come and gone already, in much smaller numbers than before. However, this year, the greengages have taken up the slack. Jackie is especially pleased as these are her all time favourites.

greengages
greengages
Following up closely behind the greengages are the damsons which are just ripening now – so more damson vodka for Christmas,
damsons
damsons

…and just behind them are the Stanleys.

stanley plums
stanley plums
It should be interesting as we’ve got a proper crop for the first time this year. In previous years we have only had one or two and they didn’t taste that great. They come from a plum tree we bought and planted in November 2009. Here are two photos taken from almost the same spot. The plum tree is still in the black plastic bucket. The Christmas tree is just behind a large rock. You can see the same Christmas tree in the recent photo, but look how the cypresses have grown!
November '09
November ’09

July '15
July ’15

..and after the plums will be the sloes. More Christmas sloe gin!

So of course, we’ve been eating lots of plums in various guises, mainly in desserts – plum crumbles and plum tarts
tart
…and Jackie’s recent favourite – plum leather. It doesn’t look great but it’s an excellent little snack to take on walks.

plum leather
plum leather

Meanwhile Jackie has been playing with her new toy (Thanks Sue, Jim and Dick) and taken some great photos of pond life:

frog

tadpole
tadpole

You can never have too many seating areas in the garden and here is the pergola I recently made for a corner of the threshing square. I only made it in May but already we have a mature grape vine crawling all over it and providing much-needed shade. Also notice that the apples are coming along nicely as well, but that’s for another post.
new pergola
new pergola

2 thoughts on “Up to our necks in plums – again

  1. Hey Richard,

    My name is Joe Pinzone and I’m casting an international travel show about expats moving abroad. We’d love to film in Portugal and wanted to know if you could help us find expats who have moved there within the last 15 months or have been there for 3-4 years, but recently moved into a new home. The show documents their move to a new country and will place the country in fabulous light. The expats on the show would also receive monetary compensation if they are filmed. They must also speak English fluently and can be buyers or renters for their homes. If you’d like more information, please give me a call at 212-231-7716 or skype me at joefromnyc. You can also email me at joepinzone@leopardusa.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Joe Pinzone
    Casting Producer
    P: 212-231-7716
    Skype: Joefromnyc

  2. Hi Joe
    As you probably know, we’ve been here for 5 yrs and the only expats we know have also been here for a while. I’ll ask around but I’m not that hopeful. You could Google a group called Portugal friends, they may be able to help.

    Regards
    Richard

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