Something worth more
Backyard fruit pickers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, June 2015
“I work hard in the orchard, not for the money anymore, but for something I can’t explain. Something worth more than money.”― Steven Herrick
I have only faint childhood memories of occasionally picking fruit. I recall muscadines and plums, and the blackberries that grew in the wild bushes surrounding the pond behind our home. One year my mother planted strawberries, but we didn’t grow enough of them to keep up with my appetite. I had fantasies about growing watermelons.
I read stories in children’s novels about people who picked all sorts of tasty fruits– apples and cherries and peaches and citrus. My parents talked of our home in the Texas border town where I had been born, and how they could pick grapefruit right off the tree. I wondered with envy what it must be like to have such bounty close at hand, free for the taking.
It would be more than forty years before I found out. In northern California our next door neighbor had nearly a dozen fruit trees, including pomegranates, mandarins, and Sorrento lemons. He told us to pick all we wanted, because he did not eat any of the fruit. The more we picked them, the more they grew.
We had fresh lemonade about ten months of the year every year, because Jeff liked making it and got very good at adding just enough sugar to take the edge of the tart flavor. It was a couple of years before I realized I had experienced the first winters in my memory without catching a single cold. Of all the things I miss about California, I think those sunny fresh lemons are near the top of my list.
Do you have fruit trees nearby, or orchards where you love to go and pick fresh fruit? If so, send us some delicious details so we can enjoy a virtual treat. It might even inspire us to visit the grocery store for a less-tasty substitute. For those of you who are able to pick fresh fruits and berries, enjoy them! I agree with Herrick; they are worth more than money.
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
Defeat Despair 
Having been a woodland enthusiast since my childhood days, I learned early that whether I was hunting for squirrels early in the morning or, dove hunting mid afternoon, I would take the opportunity to look for Muscadine vines! This was something my dad had passed on to me. What a great snack and one that would satisfy the hunger of a young boy who was always hungry, away from home!! A few years back I found some vines and brought them to my house to be replanted. It was, for some reason, one of the most satisfying of feelings to have them bear fruit the following year.
Thanks for the lovely story and for the memories it brought about, Julia!
Steve, you’re welcome. Yes, those Muscadines had a flavor all their own, and one that was enhanced by the context in which we enjoyed them. You mentioned hunting. One thing that those who never hunted (or in my case, had family who did, since I was not a hunter myself) was that the primary joy of it seemed to lie in walking freely in the woods– armed, and therefore unafraid of man or beast, but seldom using those weapons. We used to joke that our Daddy never really wanted to kill a deer unless they needed the venison (which they always seemed to have plenty). He had the skill to fill the freezer with seaon’s worth of meat using only a primitive bow, but on most trips, he simply loved staying in the woods, sometimes for days, and returning with stories of what he saw, not having killed anything at all. Hunting, as with many other aspects of life, is often misunderstood and mischaracterized by those who don’t understand its role in wildlife conservation.
Hullo Julia. I have citrus trees growing. We moved them around in pots for many years until we moved to the Blue Mountains. The trees are not big but after the possums stripped the mandarins and small blood oranges from them last year I netted them securely this year. As a result the ruby grapefruit, mandarins, limes, lemons and oranges have produced good crops which mostly I give away as I can’t eat them all. Hoping Matt is improving every day and you are coping with the added stress in your life. Dorothy x
Hello Dorothy, it’s always such a joy to hear from you! I had been thinking of you and wondering how you are doing. We are still in survival mode here; some days are better than others, but I’m learning to go slowly and realize that medical trauma leaves lingering psychic wounds as well as physical ones, for both the patient and the exhausted caregiver. I’m so happy to read of your abundance of fruit! Wish I was there to help you eat them! My Meyer lemon (which I had moved outside just before Matthew’s 3+ weeks in the hospital) was really struggling when I got home; apparently there was not enough rain for it. But it’s starting to bounce back, and has spouted several tiny lemons. I hope the possums (or squirrels?) don’t come for them before they ripen! Thanks for your presence here. I so appreciate hearing from you and learning how things are going “down under.” I’m hoping and praying for more time to stay in touch at some point in the future. Until then, thanks so much for your understanding!