Poor Little Grape Tree

Remember this photo from early April?


On that day, I also chose this Scripture:

Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.  Jeremiah 33:2-3

"...I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  Indeed.  I certainly didn't know this could happen:


Of course, it's not a grape tree.  It's a pitiable plum tree, so heavily laden with fruits that it even shed one branch in a recent storm.  Tell me these don't put you in mind of grape bunches, though:



I've never seen so many plums on a tree in my life, and I'll be hunting recipes incorporating them, because these will be ripe in a couple of weeks.  This is a plum crazy year!

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.  Psalm 34:3, 4

I'm Plum Thankful, Jeannie

She had me with, "...never...fuss with them at all other than to wash them."

A couple of posts ago, in the comments section, Jeannie talked about making plum jelly.  Now you're going to think it was all about her causing turning plums into jelly to sound like a simple feat, and I'll grant that part was huge.  But Jeannie said fuss.  She doesn't fuss with them.  Gotta love the phrase.

So I wanted to not fuss much with plums.  With Jeannie's encouragement, I did.

[Confession:  I fussed at my plums, when I was glistening and dripping over a hot stove.  And I fussed at them when they boiled over and warped my new cabinet paint job (in an inconspicuous place \o/).  I fussed when the juice climbing the neck of my homemade jelly bag was scalding my fingers...since I was too impatient to wait for the pulp to cool.  But I didn't fuss much with the plums.  Jeannie was right.]

Thanks for the plum jelly, Jeannie.  ºÜº

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.  Proverbs 30:8, 9

Heads or Tails...mostly tails

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  Psalm 2:2-5

Mirabelle Plums

I'm not very observant, especially outdoors.  The tree in the foreground below is actually two trees growing together.  There's a lot of that going on around here, and since we were late arriving on the scene, we don't know why.


I can't tell you whether or not this tree bore fruit in previous years.  I know it produced the red things, and they're not edible.  Here's what grows on one half:


This year, the other half looks like this:


And this...bigtime:


I was in the pool Sunday, when Charles began lobbing the fruits at to me.


I had a little fruit feast.

We decided they're plums, so I hunted online until I found a match: Mirabelle plums.  Tasty.  Very tasty.  Sour skin and sour near the pit, but most of the flesh is juicy and sugar-sweet.  Now I have to decide whether or not to harvest and put them up...as something.  Can you imagine peeling 1,837 bitsy plums?  Me neither!  And just how much jam can a family eat?  Plum pie?  Wikipedia says they're used in pies, too.  I've never heard of plum pie.  Allrecipes.com, I'm on my way.  Maybe.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  I Peter 5:6, 7

The Tomato from You-Know-Where

Last evening, Charles brought in another sackful of tomatoes.  (*moan*)  This time he told Son4 to get the camera and everyone to gather 'round, because he had something to show us.  We all stood poised to be wowed...and were not disappointed.  It was the tomato from you-know-where, and the reveal elicited the desired gasps and exclamations.


Devilish little thing, isn't it.  Intriguing as it is, rather than leaving us all with that image emblazoned upon our minds, I've fixed it.  It's a Purrley Tomato: 

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  Hebrews 10:11-14