Mary:
Thanks for response--very encouraging. I'll keep the rest in the cave aging and look forward to trying it when it's a little more mature.
Boofer:
Yeah--hail. Colorado Springs gets a fair amount of hail (at least it has in the time we've lived here). I just planted these fruit trees last summer and learned this summer that the hail can turn a promising crop into garbage. A fried of mine told me, after the hail of course, that netting to keep birds out is partially effective in reducing the damage caused by hail. I had literally hundreds of tiny plums on my plumb tree at the beggining of the summer. After a number of hailstorms, I now have 14 very purple plums, each with some dents. The apples were similar--a lot to start with, very few left and all a little dented.
The gouda melts really well. In fact, I just like to melt it (like most cheeses that will melt) on a plate and eat it with a fork. My wife thinks I'm silly, but she's accustomed to it now. I think this guy is destined to top some burgers tomorrow...
