Got 'cots

I saw the sign and then spotted the mobile fruit stand just north of the stoplight at the Schweitzer Cut-off Road in the old K-Mart parking lot. The signs advertised peaches, sweet cherries, tomatoes and nectarines.

"But I want apricots," I thought to myself while straining to see if I could seen any boxes of cots from busy HWY 95. No luck, so I drove on to town and did my business and grocery shopping. Just before pulling into Yoke's, I saw another sign for the fruit stand, and this one list 'cots. I pulled in and saw some boxes of the biggest apricots I've seen for a long time. They look almost like peaches.

The proprietor immediately offered me a juicy peach slice, then a cot slice. He was anxious to sell me some peaches, but I said I wanted those 'cots, pointing to a partially-filled box.

"We usually sell a full box," he said, "but we'll sell you that one."

"How much?" I asked.

"Eight dollars . . . you'll get a good deal on that," he said.

"I'll take it." While pulling a wadded up five and three ones from my pocket, I heard from the owner that the fruit came from Wenatchee, all except the corn, which is from Yakima. The proprietor grows most of it on his own farm. He says he's gonna have great big, juicy and tasty beefsteak tomatoes next week. He's at the K-mart lot from Thursday 'til Sunday, but if he's not there on Sunday, that means he's sold out. Says he doesn't haul a lot of fruit over this way because of an inadequate refrigeration system.

Anyway, I pulled away with my 'cots, ciphering in my head just when I was going to have time to wash them, pit them, cut 'em up and throw them in the freezer for making jelly later. My homemade jelly/jam supply has diminished to next to nothing, so I've got a lot of canning to do this fall. For now, I'll just freeze the fruit and wait for rainy days, to replenish the supply.

So far, I've got 'cots, little red Japanese cherries from the bushes ignored by the robins, almost four gallons of homegrown strawberries and a sack of sweet cherries thoughtfully given to us by the Camp family. Becca Camp took some of my magnum swiss chard as an exchange. If anyone likes magnum swiss chard, come by and pick some from the Lovestead garden. I like the stuff but can't eat a steady diet of it. Also, there's a lot of magnum Romaine lettuce out there just waiting for some salad freaks to pluck it for their summer dining.

Granted, in the grand scheme of things, it's probably a heckuva lot cheaper and much less work to go to the store and buy all this stuff ready to eat, but there's also a heckuva lot less satisfaction and flavor in store-bought foods than most anything that's home-grown or home-prepared. I'll take fresh fruits and garden goodies any day, and this summer looks like a good year for an ample supply of tasty veggies and fruits.

And, this winter, I'll be glad that I stopped at that fruit stand and even more thrilled with the frozen veggies grown from seeds I planted myself.