Pickin' Cherries

There's a cherry tree at the place I'm staying at right now, but it's nothing compare to the ones at the cherry farm.  They're big and red and sweet, though I wish they were a little crunchier and not too soft.  Went to the Red Hill Cherry Farm today.  Entrance fee is $5 but it goes towards your purchase if you pick a full bucket.  I was scoping out the big ones which are usually near the top of the tree.  Picked a few, ate a few, no one seems to care.  It's like an all you can eat cherry lunch buffet, except it's only cherries and nothing else.

Since there were bus loads of tourist from who knows where coming to this place, some rules of picking were lost in translation.  I see an old couple picking them cherries like there was no tomorrow.   Two overflowing buckets of cherries.  Apparently they thought they can pick them and not have to buy them...what's the point of that?  How will the cherry farm stay in business if everybody did that?  Well when they found out that they had to buy the cherries, they decided to pour them all in a plastic bag and stashed them under the tree hoping no one would find it.  Unbeknownst to them, there were staffs walking around to check and make sure people were following the rules and having a good time.  Well they found the bag and the old couple ended up having to cough up about $50 for the cherries.  At least they'll be enjoying them for the next month or so.

I don't know what the big fuss is about picking fruits and not sure why anybody would do it more than once.  It's really hard work I tell ya.  Spiders all over the trees.  The hot sun beating down on you.  Fighting for a good spot with other fruit pickers.  A year ago I picked strawberries and today cherries.  It's a cool experience for someone who's never done it, but I think I'm done with fruit picking for now.  Cherrios!