It's Raining Plums!

We made a really exciting discovery this week in the garden.
We have plums.

Last year I re discovered plums in Rob's mom's backyard. These plums are miniature, and super sweet. You can almost pop the whole thing in your mouth like a cherry. Amazing. Not at all like the tart not quite ripe plums found in grocery stores. Ruth's tree produces more than she ever knows what to do with. Last year we brought home a half gallon, the only catch was, we had to climb the ladder and pick them ourselves. And then we spend all winter eating interesting desserts made with plums.

This week we were out examining our poor decrepit apple trees. Seriously, last year there were so many apples, but they were all scabby, so really only good for cooking. This year we had actual arborists look at our trees in the spring and they cut them back. Now one tree isn't producing at all. Last winter I had even said that maybe we should chop at least one of them down and grow a plum tree, or a cherry tree. While I was over there I looked over into the rocks by the shed and said "hey... where are the plums coming from?"


We looked up into the huge tree arching over the back corner of the yard and I peered behind the fence to find that the plums are coming from a plum tree. Surprise! But the real surprise was, it might be our plum tree!

The next day, Amber and I were hanging around the shed picking up fallen plums when the dog in our neighbours yard came barreling at us. Yards here are different then yards in Saskatchewan, covered with huge trees and with huge fences in between us, we don't really know our neighbours at a all. There aren't any lane ways in our neighbourhood either, so we are back to back with the house behind us, but as long as we've been in the house there has been an old dilapidated solid fence between us. A few weeks back a new chain link fence arrived and we were able to see into our neighbours yard for the first time. Turns out they have a dog. A large dog. So when he came tearing toward us, Amber and I yelped a little and his owners came running over to admonish him. Turns out the (enormous) dog is new and still just a puppy (hence, the new, stronger fence) and the neighbours have only been there 2 months themselves. And they are our age and super nice! Rob thinks I'm funny, but I love getting to know our neighbours. I grew up at my next door neighbours house. Dad and Larry used to pretend they were Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble and they would someday build a puuool in between our yards.

So I keenly told them we would have them over for a barbecue soon, and they looked as excited as me (or maybe I'm just creepy and hoped they were that excited).

This whole long story was getting around to the fact that they also think the plum tree is ours. But we will share the plums as they fall :) And unfortunately we discovered after pulling out the giant fruit picking ladder, that the tree is very very very large, and we may only be able to collect the plums as they fall after all.