Two nights ago, I
ended, so I thought, my work for the day by finishing weeding a large section
of my garden. It was after 8:00 PM. I felt I had accomplished quite a bit for
the day which began with my morning walk with the dogs at 7:00 AM and included
straightening the house, making sloppy joes, washing dishes, paying bills, and
weeding twice. I was tired and hungry.
I looked up and
glanced into our tiny orchard where I noticed our sour cherry tree glowing red.
Hmmm…I better go and check out that tree.
Sure enough, a good
portion of the cherries had ripened and were ready to be picked. I did not chance waiting another day and
letting the birds discover my loot.
I called Glenn to see
where he was. Glenn was out in the
pasture moving the cattle herd onto fresh grass. I asked him not to dillydally, as he
frequently does, because WE needed to pick cherries. Glenn loves sour cherry pie. Promptly, he returned to the house.
The cherry tree is
small, yet a ladder is still required to reach the upper branches which were
full of fruit.
Nearing 10:00 P.M., we
had gathered the ripe cherries, washed and pitted them, added sugar and placed
them into quart containers for freezing. We had three full quarts which does
not sound like much, but it is plenty when standing and hand-pitting those cherries
at the kitchen counter, so back-breaking, and all before we even had dinner.
My schedule is full
for the next two weeks, so I am unable to make a fresh cherry pie now. Glenn will have to wait. The cherry-picking could not wait. A second picking will be ready in a few more
days. Besides, I am still harvesting
strawberries and we do eat those fresh on a daily basis. A person can only consume so much fresh and
delicious fruit in a day.
Glenn’s mouth is
watering for his first cherry pie of the season…actually two seasons since we
did not have any cherries last year. All I can say is…darn birds.
This morning, I
realized that more cherries had ripened and were ready to pick. The ladder was still in place under the
cherry tree. Glenn picked while I
pitted, and pitted and pitted. This time I made myself a cherry-pitting station
so that I could sit and be a bit more comfortable. It included using a large cooler for a
tabletop, large bowl to receive the pitted cherries, small bowl to receive the pits
and stems, and of course, the plastic colander of washed cherries which was
refilled several times from the large bowl of cherries-in-waiting. Juice ran down my arms and dripped on my legs
and floor, but my back was spared the stabbing pain which I experienced from my
earlier cherry-pitting session two days prior. Glenn picked for two hours and I pitted for
five hours. At the end, we added six
more quarts to our freezer.
 |
| notice the radio to keep Glenn amused while diligently picking the cherries |
That is a lot of time
spent to harvest such a small quantity of cherries, but then they are fresh and
our own. All I can say now…I hope Glenn appreciates,
really appreciates, his cherries. He did mention something about nine pies as
he licked his lips.
There are still more
cherries left on that cherry tree - ugh!
Where are those
sneaky birds when you need them?
No comments:
Post a Comment