Look at these gorgeous plummies. They are lit from within with the concentrated light of a Vancouver Island summer day. Even though we moved into our place a year ago, we are discovering a whole new crop of fruit from trees we didn’t know we had. Whether the trees just didn’t bear fruit last year, or the crows got to them all before we noticed them, I’m not sure. But this year the plum trees are positively laden.

These are all different types of plums. I think the little cherry-like ones are mainly ornamental, but they are quite tasty. A friend told us the bright green ones are damson plums; they seem to go right from green to moldy prunes without passing “ripe”. I wish we knew what all the types were. There are golden plums, peach ones blushing red, and burnished red. We need plum recipes, stat! Jams, sauces, tarts — whatever you got.