Citrus time!

After talking for weeks about needing to get some more lemons off the back of our neighbors tree that are ready to drop into the yard, on Saturday we did it! It's time and they are quite big. The same day, my friend posted a message on Facebook inviting people to come get oranges and grapefruit from her trees, so we went there too. The only instructions I gave Enoch: don't overdo it. Enoch has a tendency to think that we are a family of 15 like his growing up and that therefore, we need enough of things to supply a small army. Not so--especially when it comes to citrus. Really. How many lemons would you use?

We juiced quite  few lemons and oranges as well as grapefruit to make juice. I made lemonade. I am thinking about making lemon squares. There is much that has been added to our freezer, but as you can see by the above photos, there is still plenty to spare. Want some?

But now to the sad saga our own little citrus we planted around the time Asher was born--the grapefruit, lime, and lemon tree. At the risk of some of you wanting to pelt some citrus at me, it's been a hard winter this year. We had several hard freezes that pretty much knocked out the growth our trees had made. We're pretty sure the lime is completely done for.

Below you see, the grapefruit which seems to be back like gang buster, the lemon which will likely recover, and the very dead looking lime. We've since learned that with limes, you really need to pot dwarf trees, so you can move them in and out. They are very sensitive to cold. Hmmmmm....That might be why few people have them around here. Enoch has not given up on the idea of a lime tree, and I am glad because this Brazilian limeade is soooooo good and will be so much cheaper to make with limes off the tree than from the store.

It may be a few years yet until we have our own harvest, but until then, we have appreciated the generosity of neighbors. :)