Remember this post?
The first few apria (or apriums) we had were surprisingly good. The next week’s batch were “ok for what they are.”
When we got back from Alaska, our new Blenheim apricot tree had about a dozen apricots, half ready to pick, half not quite there. (It’s a new tree: next year, we’re hoping for several dozen apricots.)
The bad news: when my wife went out the second day to pick the remaining apricots, they were all gone. She grumbled about that. Presumably a squirrel or very adept bird (they were all gone); hard to believe someone would have gone into our gated back yard to grab a few apricots.
The good news: The other apricots were apricots. Comparing them with the apria/apriums is a bit like comparing, say, top-of-the-line filet mignon with a “roast beef” sandwich from a vending machine. Half of one fully ripe, just off the tree, Blenheim apricot is enough for pure ecstacy.
[By the way, I’ll still delete “helpful comments” about how farmer’s markets and direct-from-the-farm services are the best way to get good produce, when they obviously come from someone who’s not a regular reader. The information may be good, but it’s still spam.]
They’re all gone now. Meanwhile, we’re getting some really first-rate pluots…and Bing cherries should be in full swing by the end of ALA. Ah, summer stone fruit season: A wonderful time of year.
“…and ALA”? Just to note that this is probably the last entry here for the next five days or so. I’m off to Chicago to swelter for a few days with a few thousand of my closest friends (and 20,000 to 22,000 library folks overall). I travel without technology, and have no intention of coping with the ALA internet center–so I won’t be dealing with email or weblogs during that time.
Which also means I won’t be moderating any comments that require moderating (which usually includes anything with URLs, and an unknown variety of other triggers) until I return.
I’m also not posting my schedule on the informal ALA wiki or here, partly because it’s very loose, partly because it just seems odd. If you’re trying to get in touch, though, here’s a few possibilities:
- I’ll be staying at the Chicago Hilton from Friday afternoon through Tuesday late morning.
- Friday, I hope to be at the LITA Happy Hour and probably at the WebJunction reception.
- Saturday, I might go to the MARS “metasearch” session and the “Models of scholarly publishing” session (but will definitely be at a small YBP-related gathering)
- Sunday, I plan to be at LITA Top Technology Trends in the audience, not on the podium and stick around for the LITA Awards Reception; later, I plan to be at the “Library bloggers” get-together that OCLC folks are hosting.
- Monday, I plan to be at the RLG Eureka Users Group session and, in the afternoon, at the “Google and Libraries” program.
But those aren’t all definite, I’m not sure when I’ll do exhibits (but I’ll certainly spend the 4 to 8 hours exhibits typically require), I’m staying pretty loose on breakfast and lunch plans (which means dining alone or with whoever I run into), and my only current formal dinner plans are Saturday and Monday.
Otherwise–I’ll be back next Wednesday, or maybe Tuesday evening.
Have fun! And write up all the good stuff for those of us who can’t go.
Ugh! @#$%^ squirrels! They’re just rats with furry tails. WORSE than rats. At least rats aren’t wasteful. They eat the whole thing. Squirrels pick a fruit, take one bite, say “Hmmm… sour,” and throw the rest to the ground. Then they pick another fruit, take one bite, and say, “Hmmm…. Sweet!” and throw the rest to the ground. Double ugh!
Sign me “Plumless in L.A.”
-Ruth
Whatever ate the apricots wasn’t wasteful: There was no trace of them.
I’m guessing that ripe-from-the-tree apricots aren’t going to be easy to find in Chicago. Just a hunch.