Recipe for disaster

It's canning time. I've spent the last three full days in the kitchen peeling, cutting, cooking , freezing and canning peaches. I've also made a peach cobbler, a peach crisp and a peach pie. With the help of two young children.

My kitchen wasn't just sticky. The floor actually made a sucking sound when you tried to walk across it. I won't even try to describe the mess on my cooktop. Suffice it to say I spent a good hour trying to get that back to its normal pristine white.

The satisfaction comes from that first sunshine-bright bite of warm peach. I also like spending quality time with my kids, teaching them basic math and baking skills.

I love my kids and I love to cook. But the two do not always make for a fabulous combination. Next year, I may just have to wish for a late frost.

That's mine

For the first time in my life, I live in what might be dubbed a "country setting." We have a couple of acres of land in an established neighborhood; the land and green spaces mean there are lots of critters that live near us. Some want to live with us. I'm not OK with that.

This year our peach tree went nuts. The peaches are plentiful and growing large - some bigger than my fist. But here's the problem: the birds and the field mice think this is there buffet. I disagree. We've been fighting about it for the past three months. I have to admit, I'm not winning as I'd hoped.

This morning, my husband and I awoke to a cheery chorus of birds right out our wind. You guessed it, that's where the peach tree is. The tree is netted and securely tied with no easy ways in but the birds solved this problem by standing on the netting and pecking through. I'm realizing I don't have a choice. In this case, sharing is inevitable. But I plan to get enough peaches for pies and preserves. The birds will just have to deal with it.