So this is the view outside my window this week.
A whole tree-full of cherries, just calling my name, saying “pick me! make me into cherry pies! please!” Asking around church had led me to the conclusion that every year, these cherries just go bad and fall off, with no one eating them but the birds. People say they’re too sour. But I say duh, that’s why they call it sour cherry pie. That dish has been a family specialty for years, my grandmother getting cherries first from her uncle’s tree, then from her own, until by a few years ago they were all dead. I decided to revive the family tradition.
That’s me, exhibiting a wanton disregard for my safety. A good two hours of my workday were spent up on that ladder, and on hauling it in and out of the building twice and moving it around the tree. But look at the goods:
Who couldn’t fall for these little cuties, in their rotund scarlet plumpness?
Yes, I took my poor camera up the tall ladder for pictures. It was quite scared, as a few weeks ago I dropped it in the bathroom, and it’s been making a funny noise when I turn it on ever since.
I discovered that a person under pressure can pick at about 5 lbs/hr.
That is what the Yarn Harlot would call a “whack” of cherries. (“Whack” translates into American loosely as “buttload.”) That’s not even the whole yield; I took this picture before I went BACK out at the end of my work day to strip the cherries I’d missed, that were just taunting me from outside my window while I folded bulletins. The prayer shawl is looking sadly neglected, as I cut into a good hour of its bi-weekly special time with the Prayer Shawl group.
After I weighed the cherries in batches on the postage scale, Becky (my co-secretary) says, “you won’t be so happy when you’re pitting them all.” What can I say? I’m a sucker for punishment. I loved her idea of throwing a “pitting party,” but in the interest of keeping them from going bad, I’ll probably have a go at them tonight. I’ll get to see if the Yarn Harlot’s tip that DPNs make good cherry pitters works this side of Niagra Falls.
Osborn Fiber Studio 