harvest knowledge

amen
so the harvest is all but finished
i was on pause there for awhile wondering
if it would turn cool
and alas the weather did not turn cool
but i had enough red showing in the tress
to move me to begin my harvest
and 'twas a good thing i did
for the day after the bulk of the apples
were boxed and in the cellar
a huge wind storm came up
trees around here were uprooted
branches down everywhere
i'm sure i would have lost quite a few apples
had i not been moved to pick

what am i to make of my ongoing experiment
with non-toxic low-impact pest control

my sense is that it works and it works fine
i estimate at this point that i have 60 bushels
there are still a number of smaller trees
the ones somebody has called connell reds
which i am holding out for a few more weeks
there's another good 4 or 5 bushels there

my simple separation is fourfold
primo = the red beautiful apples one might like to see
on the table and grab for a crisp sweet tart snack
average = are the apples not so handsome
but they make good pies and apple crisp
cider = those apples already on the ground
or at least half the apple would be good cut up and thrown
into the cider press
deer or earth = the remains

so far we've pressed about 8 gallons of cider
two young families joined me last saturday
and the kids did a great job climbing the trees
for an hour
then we shifted gears and pressed some of the apples
into cider
this was a very joyous high energy afternoon

thus i got to thinking
an orchard should not be a place limited
to work and profit
there was boisterous regaling and glee
mmmnhs and aahhhs after gulping fresh cider
work play and the parents insisted
that a healthy exertion of youthful energy
is a very good thing
good humour amongst the adults
some poetry
some other folks stopped by and tasted the cider
and they were not a little overjoyed with it all

i've still a little bit of sorting to do
and i plan to do some peddling
at an upcoming football game

from those folks to whom i've granted
free access for picking i've heard nothing
but amazement at the size (quite few softball sized and bigger)
and flavour of the apples

my measure of success must be calculated in terms
of aesthetics quantity
& human response and i suppose money
will have to figure in at some level

i've some work to do yet
before the orchard sleeps
some tree protection
and some pruning of dead limbs

while i had some workdays in the sun
i am left with the profound realization
that i participated in an act of creation
and it was not I who brought about the yield
not I at all
save for the sweat and laughter

i'm thinking of a name

HOWDJYALYKESDEM
apples