Swimmer Meet Orchard Walker
Posted on August 31, 2009I took a late vacation this year - one week at the end of August up at the Russian River in Northern California. We rent a small house that's down a bumpy one-lane road, up and over hills, and through redwood-shaded canyons. Kids gather on the rocky beach, their shoulders heaving up and down like marionettes as they walk delicately over the hot stones and into the water. Parents grind the screw end of their beach umbrellas into the gravel, their arms aching as if finishing a shift on the largest pepper mill known to humans. Americans plus summer always seems to equal water. From my Philly summers spent down at The Shore (translation - a New Jersey beach); through my wide-eyed New Orleans time as family members slalom water-skied around gators in swampy rivers (I skipped that one); to blue crabs and July 4th along the Chesapeake; and finally to California rivers and beaches, it strikes me that as Summer comes to a close, lots of folks are either longing for, or getting in, their last week of water time before heading back to their Fall lives.
John Cheever's "The Swimmer" has always been my favorite summer-water short story. It takes in the different lives of pool owners as Neddy Merrill crosses the suburbs by swimming pool-by-pool through their backyards. (Let's overlook the hopelessness and the ennui for a moment.) I sometimes feel like I am swimming from one orchard to the next, tasting the seasons' movements as one variety of fruit cools and another glows warm with harvest. We are beginning the great transition from Summer to Fall. In the West, Organic heirloom Bronx Grapes and Torrey Olsen's spectacular Asian Apple Pears rise up, while Blake Carlson's peaches and nectarines fade away. In the East, Kauffman's peaches are winding down while his apples and pears are coming in. In the Midwest, we had apples, pears, and both yellow and donut peaches from Lehman Orchards in Niles, Michigan, part of our mission to provide all our regions with local produce. You can cross orchards without getting wet by swimming through the fruit listed on our InTheMix page at fruitguys.com. Just click on your region.
And to those parents with kids heading off to college for the first time-good luck to all. Check out our special fruit delivery for college kids at dormsnack.com. We wanted to give parents a way to send something healthy and good to their kids when they're far away from home.
Our number one goal is to make you happy and healthy. Please contact us with any questions or ways we can help make that happen. Contact Nicole at customer service for a prompt reply, as I'm a little slower on email. Her address is Nicole@fruitguys.com Enjoy and be fruitful. Chris@fruitguys.com
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