We’re fully immersed in cherry picking these days now that our residential fruit tree project is in motion. This Sunday afternoon made for a lovely time to harvest, despite the first tree being entirely picked over by the birds. I suppose they should have some of the city’s fruit offerings, too.

So we chased after a second tree in the same neighbourhood. Luckily this tree was full of perfectly ripe clusters of sweet cherries. With a stepladder and a few chairs, we harvested everything we could from the bottom third of the tree. Picking the lower branches bare took twelve of us two hours! This included lots of time spent socializing, enjoying the sun, taking a break for juice and cookies (thank you, Hilary!), and contemplating the deeper meaning of urban fruit tree foraging. But it’s still something to think about next time you walk past a tree full of fruit. There is fresh fruit in abundance!

At the end of the pick we divvied our pillage into thirds. We left one third with the fruit tree owner who was amazed at how much we were able to harvest from such a young tree (only five years!). The volunteers walked away each with their share to enjoy (and with happy bellies from the ones that “accidentally” dropped into their mouths while picking). And I continued on to NaMeRes where I delivered the last third to their kitchen.

We’re on a roll now. We’ve put our picking theory into practice and we’ve started to make waves in the neighbourhood. This couldn’t happen without the help of many, especially the volunteer gleaners. Thank you!