go fruit picking

When I was little (age 7-9) I lived on a farm where we grew apricots, plums, pears, apples, grapes, blackberries, almonds and also had a vegetable garden. My parents and my brother and I spent hours working in the orchard. Now as an adult, I so miss having all that fresh fruit at my disposal. I can’t believe that I used to be able to just go and pick fruit off of the tree. As snakes weren’t rare on the farm I wasn’t allowed to roam around without my (then) hated cowboy boots. I had more than several encounters with snakes. One in particular stands out. I was picking from blackberry brambles loaded with succulent berries. I saw some eye-catching berries just out of reach and found a spot where I could push down the ubiquitous barbed-wire fence that separated the orchard from one of the pastures and cross over to get some berries on the other side of the fence. I looked down and a blood-curling scream escaped my lips as I stood rooted to the spot, one small scuffed cowboy boot clad foot frozen in mid-air. Just where I had been about to step lay a large lazily coiled up snake, its coppery-brown scales glinting in the summer sun. My scream was so loud that our wild mustangs grazing nearby bolted and my dad and brother came running over. My blackberry-stained hands waving wilding, I gestured to the spot I had nearly stepped on and lo and behold, the snake had left its skin behind and bolted as well! (Slight exaggeration!) Apparently, I had scared it as much as it had scared me! Phew! That wasn’t the only close call I had with snakes on our little farm but the only one related to fruit!

Another favorite memory of fruit picking would have to be when I was on a mission trip to Yap in the South Pacific. We took a Sabbath (Saturday) afternoon boat ride to a deserted island that had the ruins of a palace. One could still find antique shards of dishes amongst the mangroves, twisted vines, and pineapple plants hidden in the jungle. I had a magical time exploring the ancient footpaths leading to nowhere that were littered with mangos that had fallen ripe and uneaten to the jungle floor. The island was dotted with a myriad of mango trees that were heavily ladden with the small sweet-smelling orbs just begging to be eaten. I was more than willing to comply and soon had sticky sweet mango juice running down my arms and chin. Today whenever I eat mangos I remember this deserted island and its sweet secrets and smile.

The weather was supposed to be awful yesterday, with gusting winds and rain… but instead, it was sunny and gorgeous at the orchard. We did a lot of walking, trying to find the right apples and pears to pick. Barlett and Bosc pears were available, as well as MacIntosh and Gala apples. The orchard-keepers kept a tight watch on us to make sure that we didn’t try to pick any of the peaches, which were not yet ready for harvest.

Apple and Pear-picking is rather different than berry-picking. I had to sort of cup the fruit in my hand and lift up, and if it came away from the branch easily, then it was ready for harvest. Some of the trees weren’t quite ready to give up their fruit and resisted. Others were dropping apples as we walked through the trees.

It really was beautiful, with dragonflies flitting about and butterflies fluttering in and out of view. The sweet smell of apples wafted across with every breeze.

I definitely want to try the other orchard, which supposedly has Asian pears.

Today, despite the drizzly weather, we went out to Bishop’s Orchards near New Haven, CT, to pick strawberries with friends.

http://www.bishopsorchards.com/

I think the weather actually worked in our favor. The cloud cover meant that we weren’t roasting, and the rain seemed to alleviate the humidity a bit. The downside is that there were many bruised berries, which we skipped picking (even though the signs instructed us to pick ALL red berries in the designated area).

The strawberry picking was pretty fun, once I got into the rhythm. I squatted to pick berries, while my friend wasn’t afraid to kneel to get the best berries. It was surprisingly easy to fill up the baskets… I just hope we can use all the fruit we picked!

The big cardboard “basket” in which our fruit was weighed is reusable, and has helpful notes on what fruit comes into season when. I think we definitely want to come back for Blueberry season… and the farm market folks promised us that the peaches were to die for. Mmmm.

When I was young, my family used to go strawberry picking in the summer. We eventually stopped as the U-Pick farms got more and more strict about what we were allowed to pick (we had to pick every moderately ripe strawberry in our assigned row, we were not allowed to eat any on the way, we had to pay by the basket rather than by weight)...

Within a few hours of us is an orchard. We went there in the fall for their Annual Corn Maze. I’d really like to go there again, as they have berries, apples, and pears… including my beloved Asian pears (no less than three varieties).

http://www.lymanorchards.com/

Oooh, apparently strawberry season starts in June… and I’ll have to remember that the pears will be in August.

when the quince season is on, i want to go to ellisfield farm

Our family goes berry picking every spring—first strawberries, then blueberries. The strawberries are extra-special because my daughter Mamie’s birthday falls near the time when they ripen, and evey year she has a Strawberry Birthday. I make her a strawberry cake, and we all eat berries ‘till we’re sick.

This next year I’d like to add apple picking to our traditions. We live close enough to the mountains of NC and North Georgia that we could make a day-trip of apple picking and foliage-admiring.

(preferably apples)