Even as the airwaves and newspapers are full of back-to-school ads, in the fields and grocery stores we’re clearly still at the height of summer. Corn on the cob and fresh fruit of all sorts are plentiful, and neighbors and co-workers are likely offering you homegrown tomatoes and zucchini that their families can’t keep up with. I have been so fortunate for the last several years to live in areas blessed with climate, soil and space just right for producing fantastic fruit, and I’ve never had to go far from home to find a well-stocked farmers’ market or produce stands. In East Wenatchee, the harvest began in June with an amazing selection of cherries to choose from (yes, there are waaaay more than just Bings and Rainiers, my friends!) and plenty of u-pick places close by. Later came apricots, peaches, pears and, of course, the world-famous apples in a dozen varieties. Leaving all of that tasty, healthy, convenient bounty behind was one of the things I dreaded about moving away last year, but good fortune allowed me to land in another area known for its fruit production. The Rogue Valley, home of Harry & David – the 75-year-old company that sends fresh fruit gift boxes and goodies all over the world – is best known for its pear orchards, but all manner of fruits and vegetables do well here. In the last 10 years or so (just as in my former home up north), a lot of orchard land has been given over to vineyards, and wineries are springing up all over. There seems to be room for everyone, though, and I was delighted to find that less than a mile down the road from our house sits a long-established and productive family farm. Beebe Farms has been around since the 1880s, and even though some of its acreage is hemmed in now by suburban developments, the land around the homestead and farm stand still supports plots of sweet corn, other veggies, melons and orchards of peaches, pears and apples. Nearly every day I find an excuse to stop in and pick out corn that will go from the field to my plate in less than 12 hours, the sweetest canteloupe I’ve tasted in a long while, or maybe some cucumbers for tsatsiki. They’ve also always got three or four varieties of squash to choose from, tomatoes and even jars of honey from the hives on their property (we’ll have to try some in Harry’s next batch of baklava). Best of all, right now they have about half-a-dozen varieties of peaches. The harvest is so bountiful that rows of tin buckets full of the just-picked, luscious fruit are lined up under the trees outside the stand, waiting for industrious home canners to load them up. I’m satisfied with just choosing a few at a time so that I’ve got an excuse to return again for freshly picked Elbertas, Red Havens, Hales or  ’49ers. They remind me of the peaches we picked from our own trees when I was a girl: still warm from the sun, softly fuzzed and so sweet smelling! So, while the calendar and the ads are telling me that fall is on its way, I choose to ignore them and relish summer’s bounty generously offered all around me. –Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader