apricots, finally done

Okay, here's a rundown on all the apricot stuff:

• first apricots: June 30
• first driveway cleaning: July 1
• second driveway cleaning: July 10
• last apricots/driveway cleaning: August 12
• countless apricots to Stacy over the course of the summer
  processed mostly into 5+ gallons of super-concentrated apricot purée, currently in the Walter Burke Catering freezer
• five grocery bags picked in 20 minutes by Patrice: July 14
  estimated 30 pounds, processed into, according to Patrice:

  6 half pints of sugarless jam; 4 frozen pies to bake on a cold winter's day (pie pie me oh my); several pints of thick, delicious apricot syrup for dipping chocolate cookies and pouring over ice cream, or using to sweeten lesser fruit pies, or just swigging out a few tablespoonfuls when no one can see; bags and bags (4 gallon bags) of fresh apricots pitted, cleaned and quick frozen for future adventures; more jam with cherries added; bowls and handfuls for fresh eating and cereal; 4 more pints of sugarless jam with agave

• one grocery bag to Steven and Janet: July 16
• one grocery bag to Nicole and John: August 10
• 4 grocery bags for our own use
  processed into 1 apricot tart, some fruit leather, some refrigerator preserves, 4 gallons of frozen purée, 4 cups blanched frozen halves, 6.5 pints of canned preserves

Patrice wrote a sweet note thanking us:

The Meehans' neighborhood apricot tree. Sweet orange morsels ... Apricots are my food, my special fruit that is part of my identity. I am a California July baby and remember climbing the fence into an ownerless apricot orchard to pick apricots every summer. We kids cleaned 'em and cut 'em open and Mom laid them out around the swimming pool to dry. We had shelves full of dried apricots until the next season. In late July, the whole neighborhood smelled sweet with the overabundance of fruit on the ground. What's not to like? Round and orange with a ruby blush. Mmmmm — the fragrant, tasty essence of summer. I have a floor-to-ceiling chalk board in my kitchen and kept a count from the pits ... ha ha! It looked like an orange smooshy hurricane hit the kitchen that day. Considered hosing out the kitchen floor but thought better of it. Wish I had taken pictures. Thanks for sharing the abundance.