Tis the season to harvest sweet and juicy mandarins off our tree

The delightful smell of mandarin peel oil has been on my hands all afternoon and evening. There's no way to hide it. I can't possibly sneak around pretending that I didn't eat the first fruit of the season harvested off our little dwarf Kinnow mandarin tree. I'm like a kid with chocolate all over her face after eating a Hershey's bar. There's no way to be sneaky or deny it with this sweet pungent goodness wafting from my hands.

I harvested the first mandarin and ate it right there out in the garden--tossing the peels in the iris bed at the base of the olive tree.

I was making sure the fruit was ready before picking any others. Honestly I was.

After I determined that the mandarins were ripened to perfection, I harvested the two largest ones and brought them inside for Hubby (he loves them).

With one in each outstretched sweetly pungent hand, I immediately said, "Look at what I have for you!"

He was appropriately dazzled by my offering. He didn't notice that I smelled of evidence of my "crime".  The mandarins were set in a place of honor on his cutting board in the kitchen to be enjoyed after dinner.

Later in the day I decided I wanted to photograph the two I'd harvested (they were so beautiful I couldn't help myself). When I was setting up to photograph them, Hubby had to make a quick run to the hardware store. While he was gone I finished my set-up and started shooting the photos. I couldn't complete my shoot unless I had pictures of a peeled mandarin. Without hesitation I peeled one of them and that wonderful aromatic oil squirted all over my fingertips.

Ahhh... heaven.

Of course I had to eat a slice that wasn't being used in the staging. I had to. Okay, it was two slices... or maybe three.

Hubby came home before I was finished and passed by my studio doorway. "It smells like mandarins in here," he exclaimed and peeked in to see what I was doing.

"I'm just taking photos of your beautiful mandarins, Honey," I said, "I had to peel one of them to get the shots."

I failed to tell him I'd eaten some of his precious mandarin--the loving offering I'd ceremoniously brought him just a few hours before.  I feel a bit guilty...

...but it was so good.

Sweet spring mandarin blossoms

I often wonder how a dwarf tree less than 4 feet tall can produce so much sweetness.

Laden with porcelain-white blossoms that fill the air with a sweetness beyond description, this little tree (in cooperation with many honeybees) will take the summer sun's warm rays and make even more sweetness.

When winter's chilly fog descends upon the garden, the orange orbs will almost be ready to harvest. By January when warm sunny days seem far away, summer will drip down our chins in juicy sweetness as we bite into each slice.

Fun facts:

• Did you know that clementines (aka "Cuties") and tangerines are types of mandarins? 
• Our mandarin tree is a Kinnow which is the most widely planted mandarin in Pakistan.
• The mandarin is known for its thin "peelable" skin that even a child can handle.

I have to post these...

Okay... I KNOW this will torment those of you in colder climes. I know... I know! But it seems to be an absolute "must" that I post photos of the ripe Kinnow mandarins on our little tree. I HAVE to!

Remember the old line "Please don't hate me because I'm beautiful?" I'm coining a new phrase. Please... don't hate me because I'm in this microclimate. ;-)

Despite the frost and chill that has caused all the leaves to fall off my plumeria and brugmansia, this little puppy just keeps plugging along. It's less than 4 feet tall and is fairly new in this location (less than a year). But look at that crop! And that's after I picked 5 or 6 yesterday! I just love a little tree that can do this--even after I accidentally fell backwards into it last summer during a mishap with the wheelbarrow (don't ask). What a trooper (the tree not me... I'm just a garden klutz).