I love fresh fruit. I'd rather have fruit than candy any day. I crave oranges and grapefruits. My sister brings back grapefruits from Texas in the spring and I eat anywhere from three to six a day, without sugar, until they're gone. Back when I worked at the apple orchard, I would eat as many as half a dozen apples each day. People wondered how I stayed out of the bathroom and got any work done, but the truth is that if you eat enough fruits and vegetables all the time, they don't affect you in that way. At least, that's how it is with me and Cliff.
Sweet cherries are my very favorite, but I seldom buy them because they are so expensive. Today we were at Walmart buying a few things for our Independence Day dinner tomorrow, and a display of sweet cherries called my name.
"Donna, how long has it been since you've tasted my succulent goodness," the bag of cherries said.
I looked at the price: $3.99 a pound. I turned my back on the tempter, who then said, "Once a year, is $3.99 a pound so much to pay?"
I turned and looked at the display again, wondering how many pounds of cherries were in a bag. I walked over, grabbed a bag, and weighed it.
Two-and-a-half pounds. I put the cherries back and once again turned to walk away, but a bag of cherries said, "Isn't your birthday Sunday?"
I grabbed the bag and walked over to where Cliff was visiting with our former renter. Holding up the bag, I said, "This bag of cherries will cost ten bucks. Sunday is my birthday. I'm buying the cherries."
"Ten bucks? Are you kidding me?"
I left the cherries in my cart, payed for them, and ate a couple on the way home. They are as good as I remembered.
Last November I planted four dwarf fruit trees, one of which was a sweet cherry tree. Guess which one died? Yes, the cherry tree. Oh, it's guaranteed, and they will send me a replacement in the fall. But that delays me getting to taste my own sweet cherries for another year. It will take from four to seven years for the tree to bear fruit. At my age, anything could happen.
I sure hope I get to taste those cherries some day.
I'm sitting here eating bing cherries as I type this comment -- just bought from our neighborhood Sunfresh -- and though they cost more than $3.99 a pound (I think a dollar more) I had to have them. I also bought the Mount Rainier cherries at $5.99 a pound. Will has a watermelon, a honey dew, and two cantaloupes ready for slicing. This is the time to enjoy the fruits of our orchards -- even if the orchard is sold at the grocery.
ReplyDeleteI bought a two pound bag of Rainier Cherries and paid $8.98. Didn't realize they were that expensive til I got home and looked at the receipt.
ReplyDeleteGood for you!! So glad you got those cherries!! I love fruit too but don't buy it too often because of the prices.
ReplyDeleteI wish I liked fruit, I'll take the chocolate anytime. I know my doctor tells me-----.
ReplyDeleteI always thought you had to buy the amount of grapes, cherries, etc. the produce manager put in the bags. One day I was trying to decide if I wanted that many grapes when the produce guy told me I could take out some and get only what I wanted. That was at our local Hy-Vee. Don't know if any of the other stores are like that.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in FL, we planted an avocado tree. I LOVE avocado... and the year that it finally decided to produce anything was the year we moved. O_o
ReplyDeleteWe have a time getting cherries in the last several years - too hot, too wet, too many bugs. They help my husband's gout so I break down and buy them a couple of times so he will have them to eat.
ReplyDeleteI love fruit too, but am more a berry person. Blueberries and marionberries are my favorites. I don't like cherries; my girls love Rainier cherries. (they're pink and yellow) They are VERY expensive too!!
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