Believe it or else, peaches are a large crop in Canada! Yes, up here in the land of eternal ice and snow -- or not! I noted Dee's post above from Syracuse, which is more or less on the same latitude as the Niagara Peninsula, that strip of Canada lying between lakes Erie and Ontario, west of the Niagara River. This area still has hundreds of acres of tender fruit, although urban sprawl and demands of estate wineries are pressuring peach, cherry, and other tender fruit crops. Those who drive from Buffalo or Niagara Falls to Toronto along the Queen Elizabeth Way pass right through this remarkably fertile land with its unique microclimate. From about the 2nd week of August until just after Labor Day, fresh peaches from here can be had at farmer's markets and roadside stands not only in the region but in places over 300 km away. In our little burgh, Belleville (north shore Lake Ontario), we have each market day a guy who drives a 5-ton truckload our way -- and he sells the whole lot as a rule. So, for anyone in southern Ontario this summer during peach season, try our Redhavens and other varieties out: just a soupcon of vanilla sugar, to enhance the flavor, is all they need. Bon appetit! Boy, William- sure wish I was going to be out that way in August... Too bad gas prices have put so many places "off limits" for so many of us and turned us into armchair travelers! - PJH

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