how to properly pick a peach ::
step one :: set your sights.
step two :: reach, twist, and pull.
step three :: inspect.
step four :: place in basket. repeat.
step five :: I think step five has something to do with pie...
we've been home from our 20-month sojourn in the caribbean for about two weeks now and it's beginning to feel like a distant dream. the last two weeks have been full of to-do lists and baking and long drives to orchards and farmer's markets and it really feels like I've picked up a piece of myself out here that I had put down whilst living down there. as fun as laying on the beach is and as delicious as fresh mango tastes, it's good to be home. it's really really good. now, about that orchard...
for years now, mitch's family has summered down in this little town in montana that just so happens to be surrounded by orchards of every kind. every season seems to offer only the very best down there and year after year I think to myself that I better go pick some of that, and this year I finally did. I've been using this site called pickyourown.org to find u-picks in all of the places I've been traveling to and I really feel like I hit the nail on the head finding this one. the owners, dan and his wife, own more than 300 acres full of cherries, apples, peaches, plums, pears, and grapes. the peaches and plums were ready for picking (and eating) and we enjoyed following dan through the rows upon rows of lush and fruitful trees. he'd stop every so often and tear a peach or a plum right in half, taste it, then hand one of us the other half to devour. they were usually so juicy we'd have them dripping down our arms before we were finished.
the neatest part of this whole experience was dan's enthusiasm and philosophy on growing things. having always wanted an orchard of my own, I found so much inspiration here. and so much inspiration for life, too. he explained it like, 'well of course there's a little science thrown in there, but it's pretty cool magic. you just plant a seed and water it and care for it and you have the best kind of candy. nature's candy.' I'm paraphrasing here, but I swear that's pretty much the gist of our conversation. and by conversation I mean me badgering him with endless questions until he had to go back to work.
^^ peat moss. all of the money from the orchard goes straight back into buying this stuff, right here. the owner said it's the best and most natural way to grow things (and that it's the secret to his green thumb success) ^^
I think dan could sense that I was seriously interested in his job, his life, ...and his lifestyle, for that matter. so before we bid adieu, he ushered us around his own personal garden. he grows all of his own produce and his wife cooks only from the garden. they're actually scheduled to open a garden-to-table cooking school here in a little while. he even let us eat straight from the vine handing us the largest variety of beans to try that I've ever seen. they were every color of the rainbow and tasted far superior to beans from a can. we picked corn off the cob and ate it raw and it was so sweet. he even sent us home with a complimentary cucumber for good measure. long story short, we left very full and very happy. and dan is officially alright in my book. the way to my heart is to feed me, after all.
if you're in the kalispell area and feel like a nice walk with all-natural hors d'oeuvres, hit up getmans' cherry red orchard. and just so you know, this was not a sponsored post in the least. we just really had a fun experience here.
and this begins the america chapters. mitch and I still sort of panic about needing to get ready to go back to the caribbean until we realize that that part of our life is over now. now I'm off to find a 9-to-5 and he's off to ace his board exams for the next few months. when did we all get so adult? well, I hope all of your weeks are off to a happy start. we've been playing so much recently, that now is the time to get junk done and that is precisely the plan today. have a great day!
love, arielle
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