fruit of heat and labor

our apricots kept getting more plump and ripe
until one of the hottest days when I convinced Jon to climb the tree and pick the crop

because I finally found the ambition to try my hand at jam
after hours of peeling and pitting,
I grated and squeezed,
sweetened with honey,
boiled,
and discovered I'm pretty good at apricot jam.

But now, I've waited too long for the second batch (I guess I lost that ambition--chalk it up to pregnancy and the heat or something) and almost all the apricots are in the grass, bird-pecked and squished.

Until next year!