Mine is looking close to ripe here in Atlanta, however we always picked them in Canada after a light frost had lit on them. This year with the heat and droughty last few weeks, I don't know if they can hang on that long! Are yours looking yellow with a slight blush on them?

Most of mine are yellow on top side and green on bottom side. A very few have a slight blush. Do they ripen some after they are picked?

We used to put them in a paper bag with an apple to get them to ripen more. Yours sound like they could use some more time. They will still be hard as rocks, which is why they get cooked.

Thanks GGG. I'll keep a close eye on them as they ripen some more on the shrub. The paper bag and apple tip is good to know in case the birds are scoping out the fruits too and I need to pick them earlier.