Telling Your Story
There are deadlines, and then there are DEADlines. Deadlines mean something must be done by a given time. DEADlines mean something must be done by a given time or it's worthless, useless, completely shot, spoiled, rotten or dead.
Unless it's an emergency (like no clean underwear whatsoever, not even the stretched-out last resort pair with holes) don't whine about needing clean clothes until the fragile peach crop and a small boatload of other garden produce is safely tucked into jars, freezer bags or dried for the winter.
The same could be said about hay-making time and other big moments in the farm cycle. Everything else is secondary, unless of course, it involves fixing something that is essential to the primary job, which of course is dictated by the weather, the checkbook, the export markets, the equipment dealer and even delivery service. Yes, life feels a bit like a pressure cooker sometimes, doesn't it?
I'm admiring the most beautiful peach crop on our tree since we moved here. It is the first time the peaches aren't showing signs of insect and disease damage, probably due to the spring weather. Sadly, this poor tree is weak, unhealthy and loses limbs under the weight of wind, snow and peaches.
But this mangled tree has more resilience than I give credit for, and it keeps on producing, in spite of being forced to live in the yard owned by second-rate arborists. Each year I fear it will be its last, so I preserve everything I can from the tree. And then it produces another crop. Oh, the parallels to life!
Sometimes we believe that we are useless, done, finished, washed up and have produced our last figurative or literal crop, when unexpectedly we get to produce another surprise crop of something. It reminds me of my mom, who repurposed yarn scraps into small blankets and gave them away to strangers. What a lovely crop.
As the combination of peaches, spices, sugar and time are transforming fruit into fruit butter in my crockpot, and jars are boiling in the canner, deadlines are being met. Laundry, along with a list of other things like dusting, mopped floors and clean countertops will have to wait!
Bev Berens is a freelance writer and empty nester from Vestaburg, Mich. She can be contacted at uphillfarm494@yahoo.com.