Summer Fruit

The plum tree in back presents a delicious harvest; no question about it. The little sugar plums burst with juice and wonderful flavor with a nice, tart skin. When I give plums to someone for the first time, they approach them cautiously, for as we know, plums can disappoint; but not these plums. They are a big hit. For weeks, these treasures rain down on the concrete, grass, chairs and cat tower. Hitting concrete makes a plum squishy and we boil those up for preserves, also very good. This year, I boiled up a bunch of imperfect plums into a plum bar, the recipe from NY Times, which yielded a dozen bars and all tasters approved. The harvest comes to an end and only the overlooked remain, still good, just scarce, leaving me with the question of what to do? When plentiful times end and nothing can replace the delight, then what?