It’s Meyer lemon season here in south Louisiana. We picked ours early December because we were supposed to get a hard freeze that didn’t happen. It wasn’t a waste though because I made a lemon tart to take to Susan & Ernie’s house along with a bag full of lemons.
Don has a friend just up the road from us who has 3 Meyer trees or bushes…whatever they are. These things are quite large but they’re more bushy than straight up trees so maybe they are bushes. They have long, sharp thorns. I do know that. I wore a long sleeved shirt and I still got wounded from picking lemons!
His wife called Saturday morning to see if we would come pick lemons. Well, of course! I asked if it was ok for my sister to come pick with me as Don was doing something else. She was thrilled to have someone else come to pick.
Yummy Meyer Lemons
Look at how heavy the clusters of fruit are:
Her bushes were absolutely loaded with fruit. We picked and picked and picked and picked. She helped us pick. I asked her how much she wanted us to pick and she said as much as we wanted. She only had one other person that might want to pick and she had already picked for herself and for the friends she usually gives them to. Pretty much the front of the bushes by the road were untouched by us.
So how much did we pick? Vanessa took home a large clothes basket full and a 5 gallon bucket full.
I brought home 7–5 gallon buckets full. And there was still probably at least that much more to be picked!
Looks like a lot of work to me
Thank goodness, Don brought them all into the house for me. I started cleaning lemons. I gave 2 grocery bags full to Miss Annie…one of Chris’s caregivers. She’s from California and has been missing Meyer’s badly. So she has a fix now. She wants me to come over day to show her how to make a Meyer Lemon Tart so I guess I’ll do that one day this week.
I bagged up lemons for Beth & Pauline. Beth & Pauline—you’re going to have to clean your own. 
Don bagged up lemons for Stefan who works with him. Stefan’s wife has to clean theirs too.
I finally got all the ones cleaned that I was going to. It took forever. I packed up 3 boxes to send to Texas. And I’ve still got lemons in the fridge and a huge box of lemons in the kitchen. Sorry, Denise….I’m afraid they’ll freeze on a trip to you. 
I’m going to make marmalade, jelly, cake, cookies, tart starter, cheesecake, gelato, lemon-cranberry scones, and who knows what else. I’m tempted to try to make my own Lemoncello. They’re yummy in iced tea and you know us southerner’s love our iced tea. I’ve still got lemon cubes in the freezer from last year but I may squeeze more lemons to add to the stash.
I was thinking we had 12-15 of our own bushes coming along but thank goodness, Don said “no, that’s Satsuma’s”. We do have 5-6 Meyers though. Holy Moly, what am I going to do with that many lemons?
I think I’d better get some sleep so I’ll be ready for all of this!
Mary Carter
/ January 14, 2013I envy you. Wish we could have bushes like that here. Right now we would have frozen lemons. Enjoy
vivoaks
/ January 14, 2013Wow! That’s a LOT of lemons!!! I can’t eat citrus, but wish I could…. Enjoy them!!
Alice Bott
/ January 14, 2013Hi Sheryl, Sounds like a great day! Don’t worry about sending lemons north, I send citrus from my trees to NY every year. I’m a former postal employee. If you mark the boxes up with perishable and fragile (and have them stamp them when you drop them off) they will call to make sure someone’s home to receive them when they arrive. They won’t leave them on a porch to freeze. Of course it’s always a good idea to insure them.
Sharon Keeney
/ January 14, 2013I had no idea so many lemons came from one tree! They must be delicious!
sobuzy
/ January 14, 2013Wow! lucky you! Enjoy….but never heard of lemoncello! I squeeze either a half lemon or lime in my tea and if I am coughing a bit of honey but never heard of lemoncello! I do not blame you for your agenda…I’d be doing the same thing…so glad we aren’t close…we would be very dangerous…
Tracy Darr-Van Reet
/ January 14, 2013Fruit trees are a mixed blessing when they mature. My folks had an apricot tree that was prolific, this past summer it got so heavy the trunk split and Dad lost a over a third of the tree, and this was after he had picked the low hanging fruit. Good thing is that friends & family love the extras!
Yum
michele hester
/ January 14, 2013I lived in TX for 8 years and through Louisianna never knowing about the lemons! If you want to send a box to georgia – I would happily pay for shipping!
quiltapillow
/ January 15, 2013Hi, could I have your receipe for Lemon/Cranberry Scones?
WWWanda
/ January 16, 2013I got use to having Meyer lemons when I carried Mother to South TX for the winter. Loved those lemons! Lemonade, lemon pie, and lemon ice tea, how good it all is.
WWW
justquiltin
/ January 17, 2013Wow! what a lemon crop. And yes, you’re right, they would definitely be “frozen lemonade” by the time they made it to me. ;-( Highs over the weekend and beginning of next week — single digits!!