Love & Lemons
Posted by in FoodThese lemons emerged from the tree in my backyard.
They are the only living thing left that I have connected to my grandmother.
After she lost her battle with Alzheimer’s, my parents plucked the lemon tree she had nurtured for years and planted it in our yard, hoping that it would blossom under our care as well as it did under hers.
It did.
She had something to do with it, I’m sure.
I went to pluck a few lemons some weeks ago and as I piled them up into a bowl and set them on the table which was drowning in the afternoon sun, I suddenly smelled the most heavenly aroma – one which I have never smelled before. It was the smell of lemons. Grocery store lemons had never smelled that way.
They smelled like the sun, and the Earth and like love.
They smelled like love.
I scraped off their rinds, and the intoxicating smell arose some more.
Then I cut up some strawberries, hoping my grandmother could join me for one last snack.
She didn’t.
But I’ll always have the lemons.
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WoW! Wish I could experience your lemons too… funny how “natural” foods are so much different than grocery store bought. We once had a wonderful grapevine in our neighborhood that produced a kind of “super concord” grape that the kids called “bullet grapes” – sweet, rich, textury and tasty! Wish I had a few right now!
This is beautiful. My grandma also has a huge lemon tree in her backyard, and those lemons really do smell like the sun or light or, well, yeah.
Love lemons too – and grandmother memories – Remy and I made Lemon Curd – so so good – you should try it – then you can taste that smell in rich creamy deliciousness!
I loved your post, and your photos. It brought back lots of grandma memories.
My grandma had to leave armenia because of the genocide. She always grew red oriental poppies in her garden because it reminded her of home. As a child she used to get paid to pick the pods, she said, for opium. But here in her garden, she grew them for the seeds which dotted her cheese boregs.
I miss my grandma. Thank you for your beautiful post.
Those rinds you scraped off would also make a delicious lemon marmalade
I love that intoxicating smell of freshly picked lemons from the back yard too. You absolutely cannot get that from commercially grown citrus.
Beautiful post. I enjoyed reading it.
I am so surprised and touched by everyone’s comments. Thank you so much