Cherries

One thing that I love about summer is the fruit.  I'm fortunate enough to have a sweet cherry tree in my back yard.  With our cold, late spring I wasn't sure we were actually going to have any cherries this year.  I was delighted to discover on July 4th, that not only were the cherries ready to pick...but the birds had actually left some for us!  I don't mind sharing with the birds, but it does annoy me that they take just one bite from each cherry instead of eating the whole thing.   Every few years we get a bumper crop and this appears to be one of those years.  I was able to fill two 1/2 bushel baskets without even pulling out the ladder. 

Now to figure out what to do with the bounty. 

I used 1 gallon of fresh cherries as a bribe to get people to stop after the Central District Health Department Cholesterol Screening so I could tell them about the resources we've added to our website for managing the Medicare medication gap, and also the new YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program. The Medicare links are for people who are on Medicare to find out if they will hit the dreaded "doughnut hole" of coverage for the cost of medications (where individuals have to pay $1700 out of pocket for meds before coverage resumes.) Please share with any of your friends or relatives in the US over the age of 65.  The YMCA diabetes prevention program is available at 42 locations in 22 states.  There's more info at the provided links.

I shared 1/2 gallon with my WIC co-workers so we can win the July Fruit & Vegetable challenge.  We're having a contest with another department to see which of us has a higher rate of employees eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and 30 minutes of exercise 3 days per week.  I'll be posting frequently about produce and exercise this month so my team can win!!!

Tonight, I need to pick more cherries and do something with all of them.  I asked my Facebook friends what they would do with the bounty.  I think I'll follow all the advice: cherry crisp, just eat them, and soak them in booze.

Vote on the latest poll to the right.  What's your favorite summer fruit?