During a recent trip home, I was delighted to see the cherry tree in our yard brimming with fruit.  It’s easy to forget about small tasty details like these that are forming over a hundred miles away when you’re just trying to get by day to day in the city.  It’s crazy to imagine that these guys were growing while I was focusing on the to-do lists that define my hectic days.  It’s nice to know that positive, unanticipated progress was happening even when it felt like I was spinning my wheels on many fronts.

Also waiting for me at home were these beautiful pieces of pottery that my mom made.  They were the perfect complement to the bright fruit!  They’re a variety of pie cherry called “Stella.”  Usually, we aren’t quick enough to pick them before the birds get to them…

… or the cats.

I decided to cook the cherries in a mixture of sugar and white rum (approximately 1 cup halved cherries, 5 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons rum, and 2 tablespoons water).  The syrupy-sweet concoction turned out to be an excellent pairing with vanilla ice cream.

Tomorrow I’ll try sampling it with yogurt… the ice cream is going fast.

I will definitely be asking for more of these cute ice cream dishes from my mom!

This season will be gone in a flash, so get out there and taste all that June has to offer!