Some friends recently offered up some plums from the tree in their yard. Well, implored me to take some is perhaps more apt. I now understand the dilemma of having something as wonderful as a fruit tree — you’re inundated with more delicious plums than you could possibly eat, bake into goodies, preserve, give away or huck at crows, ever, in your life. In the span of a week or two. So I happily took delivery of a small box of plums, and turned them into 5 or 6 pints of delicious ginger plum jam.

And then another friend mentioned they had a plum tree in their yard, and they were going away for a while and did I want to pick some plums? Oh, why not?

15 pounds of plums later came plum cake, plum chutney (two kinds), hibiscus plum jam, not to mention quite a few eaten fresh. I like it all, but I’m ready for the next thing, and also, I’m out of canning jars.