What I Miss.....

....in winter.....Fresh Peaches!
(Click picture for larger view)

"A Georgia peach, a real Georgia peach, a backyard great-grandmother's orchard peach, is as thickly furred as a sweater, and so fluent and sweet that once you bite through the flannel, it brings tears to your eyes." ~ Melissa Fay Greene, Praying for Sheetrock

I love fresh peaches... yellow ones, white ones, cling... it really doesn't matter the type as long as they're juicy. That squish of juice when you first bite through the skin into the soft meat; that sticky sweet juice that runs down the corner of your mouth and drips onto your shirt or meanders down your wrist and arm to drop off your elbow. That is a sensation and a lush taste that cannot be beat. I love peach pie, peach cobbler, peach ice cream, peach preserves, even pickled peaches... although I liked the latter more when I was a kid. I DO NOT like canned peaches, the store bought kind in the tins. I'm not sure about the home canned ones because I can't remember anyone in my family ever canning them... except the pickled variety. Frozen peaches are OK, but only if the fresh are out of season.

In late July or early August we sometimes take a long drive down south of Virginia Beach, passing the blueberry fields in Pungo and on into North Carolina to pick peaches. There we drive through the groves and start picking... and, as with the blueberries, you may eat as many as you want while picking.. Ahhhh! That rich sun drenched goodness straight from the tree to the lips is .... is... well, words fail me! OK, how many more days is it until peach season? Arrrrgh!

Submission for Tuesday Challenge (yes, I know I'm running late) topic "fruit". (end of post)