Oranges!

I love this time of year for several reasons...one, it's not blazing hot (although I did have the a/c on in my car today)...winter lawn (it's the greenest & softest), good holiday mail & best of all, ORANGES. My parents have about 10 mature (really mature) orange trees that produce quite a harvest. In the spring they blossom & it smells heavenly. That smell is one of the things I missed the most when we weren't living in Mesa...let alone in the middle of the groves. In the fall the oranges are ripe and many a day is spent outside eating oranges fresh off the trees.

Today I enjoyed all three of my favorite things. Sitting on the lawn with my mom & Zack, eating an orange & sorting through the holiday mail. I've decided that sorting through holiday mail is much more fun at my parent's house. They seem to get cards & treats from gobs of people...and I love it when a card comes from someone I grew up with years ago. It is fun to catch up & see how everyone is doing.

Zack loves to crawl around outside & today he experienced his first orange...which resulted in several squished slices, but he loved it all the same, so I suppose that counts! :)

If you want some delicious home-grown oranges, email my brother Kevin at: kevyoboyer@yahoo.com. He sells bags of oranges for $10/ea. Each bag contains about 10-15 oranges. He'll deliver them if you live local (Phoenix metro area). Right now, the oranges are extra juicy, but aren't super sweet. As winter progresses & they hang on the tree longer, they will get sweeter & sweeter. They are typically good through about February...when they are almost too sweet.