If you’ve never had a fresh peach straight off of the tree you are really missing out!  

We have 3 peach trees in our backyard all different varieties that ripen at different times so we can extend our peach eating season.  The first tree is almost empty now and the second is just ripening.  

YUMM!  

If you don’t happen to have peach trees and you live in the Valley of the Sun you can still enjoy picking fresh peaches at the annual Queen Creek Peach Festival this weekend.  Here are the details:

A weekend of peach food sampling, peach pancake breakfast, pie eating contests, chef demonstrations, hay rides to peach orchards for picking, organic vegetable picking, arts and craft booths, children’s crafts, amusement rides, and live entertainment.

May 15-17, 2009

7:30am to 4pm

U-pick peaches for $1.75 per pound

Admission is $2.00 pp and $10.00 for a ride wristband (unlimited) or $2.00 for a train ride and others. Hayrides to orchards included in admission.

24810 S Rittenhouse Rd, Queen Creek, AZ‎ -(480) 444-2590‎

If you can’t make it out this weekend check out the website for other times you can go pick your own peaches, you’ll be glad you did!

Nearly each morning we are greeted by a handful of these beautiful creatures chattering atop one of the trees in our front yard.  The Peach-faced Lovebird is a small brightly colored parrot native to Southwestern Africa.  There is a large feral (n. wild and menacing-though I don’t believe them to be menacing)  population in the Phoenix Metro area.  A breeding pair was first reported in 1998 in Scottsdale and unlike most accidental releases the lovebirds have been able to adapt to the dry heat of AZ.  Since then they have really made themselves at home in the Valley of the Sun.  Check out a map of the Phoenix area and the lovebird sightings.  Don’t forget to update it with your own lovebird sightings.

Fun facts about our (I call them our) lovebirds:

• They are quite social and nearly always arrive in pairs, frequently in groups of 6-10.  
• They are also VERY vocal.  The loud chattering announces their arrival and departure.  In fact, last spring a couple of them were nesting in the roof tiles above my master bedroom.  It was fun but a little loud earlier than I appreciated in the morning.  My husband says that sometimes they are quite annoying to golfers when they number in the hundreds around some of the golf courses here in the NE Mesa area.  
• They are also a little feisty and “bicker” back and forth with each other as well as with the sparrows and finches.  
• We have discovered that they really enjoy fruit flavored birdseed.  We bought the cheaper stuff one time and they kind-of boycotted our feeder. 
• They don’t spook to easily.  They will usually allow us to walk outside under the tree they are perched on without flying off as other birds do.  

In writing this post I have also discovered that lovebirds have taken up habitat in London and parts of Scotland as well.  

So as you are out enjoying the wonderful AZ winter (or whilst in London or Scotland) keep your eyes and ears out for these cute little guys.  In my opinion it is more fun to have them out in the “wild” than to pay $59 for them at a pet store.