Greetings,
Yesterday was filled with a variety of service to community. The Garden Sisters were dropped off at one of our four apricot trees...it was already ripening! After a few reminders about picking, we started plucking the egg-yolk colored little fruits off the tree. Sister Gardener would have given the tree another day or two so more fruit would be ripe, but our little corner of South Dakota was being buffeted by high winds and the ready apricots were starting to fall pretty quickly.
Once we had picked all that we could reach from the ground, we started up the ladders and this simple chore became a little more interesting. Ahem...apricot trees have a lot of 'play' when being blown by the wind. There were moments when we needed to stop picking and simply keep one hand on the ladder and the other swaying with the tree. We weren't in danger of being blown off our ladders, but it can be a bit dizzying when the a the tree becomes a whirl of green and orange while your standing still. The blessing was three boxes to begin our apricot season (several more will follow) and the 'breeze' was enough to keep all the gnats away!
The sisters were very excited to see the fresh apricots served for supper that night!
Blessings,
