Of Hillbillies and Cherry Trees

My regular readers know that I am married to My Hillbilly who is the love of my life and the most wonderful man in the world. The Hillbilly likes to tell stories and is slowly taking over my blog. Here he is again:

My last post, which Cynthia named "The Hillbilly Knows No Fear", was actually the lead-in of what will probably be 3 or 4 posts (Cynthia's note: See what I mean?), and I should have had at least one of them done.  However, my week did not go as planned.  

You see, I have these two cherry trees in my back yard that I take care of. I trim them to make them pretty.  I fertilize, water, and care for them, but are they as considerate of me?  Not even close!  Do they have their cherries ripen when I have some time off to pick them? No!  So, instead of having a couple of days where I have 10 to 12 hours each day to harvest, I have only 3 hours or so per day.  And, it became apparent to both Cynthia and me, that I was in trouble. 

 After having harvested 18 gallons of cherries we couldn’t tell that I had yet begun.  Now, after picking about 45 gallons, eating a few gallons as I picked, which definitely has troubling effects, there are still probably 25 gallons in the tree.  

The following pictorial and comments are kind of a breakdown of my rushed week:

This is a picture of one of my trees after having picked the aforementioned 18 gallons of cherries.

Yes, for you who don’t know, this is a handful of cherries.  I don’t know exactly what kind they are.  I have heard them called Queen Annes, Royal Annes, Blondies, and Rainiers.  All I know is that they are the best and juiciest cherries I have ever eaten.  I give most of them away.  People practically fight over them.

Who is the old man on the 10’ ladder?  Oh, It’s me...I mean that young, nice looking man on that ladder!  Babe, do those jeans make my butt look big?  They are faded nicely, have a hole in one knee – hey, I be styling! Unless of course they make my butt look big.  Oh, and yes I am on the top of the ladder that plainly states "not a step."  My theory is that if they don’t want you to stand on it, then they shouldn’t put it there!
 

Cynthia's Note: It's okay; the life insurance is all paid up.

Yes, this is me on the (not a step), on my 6’ ladder on the second tree.

This picture of the beautiful bowl of cherries is one our friend sent to us thanking us for the cherries.  She basically said that she was admiring them prior to devouring them. 

Besides the joy of making a whole lot of people happy by giving them these cherries, (maybe these should be called happy trees), I now reap the reward of my labor.  

This is a picture of a beautiful cherry pie made by my beautiful wife.  

Wait!  Does that pie look nervous to you?  Yes, I saw a quiver of fear!  Instincts of ancient man are stirring in my soul.  Predatory instincts are coming to life!  Arghh, you cannot escape me little pie!  Rending, tearing, cherry juice dripping, gulp!  

Hey, gorgeous, best cherry pie ever!

 
From the Hillbilly’s Corner


 


What's your favorite summer fruit? Do you grow any of your own produce? Do you think I should increase the amount of The Hillbilly's life insurance policy?