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06/30/2008: "Timing Is Everything"

One thing I've learned about cherries: timing is everything! They're not like apples, or even plums, which persist on the trees for days, if not weeks. Cherries turn ripe, the birds descend, the trees are stripped clean. You have to be lucky, and prepared, to squeeze some picking in between the ripening and the birds descending. This is the first successful cherry harvest I've had from the farm, and I credit a number of factors: we performed the starling habitat reduction earlier this spring, Nate has been after the jays, we put up the bird scare devices at just the right time, and I was able to work a farm trip into the schedule at just the right time in the ripening.

It was tremendously satisfying to find the tree so full of ripe- and nearly-ripe cherries, just waiting to be picked. Somehow I didn't even mind the 100 degree heat; I lathered up with the sunscreen, put on my big straw hat, and started getting the ladders into position. I quickly realized that I could have the luxury of picking only ripe cherries... I could take the darkest ones, and leave the others for another day (or another picker). In the end, I was able to fill an entire 40 quart cooler, to be dried and made into pies and jam. I had to buy a bag of ice on the way home to keep the cherries cool; the loading of the cooler with 95 degree fruit quickly thawed my blue ice! I'm hoping to get another day of picking in before the birds finish them off.