Let Me Explain - Part 1

First, as someone with better writing skills than myself once said, forgive me for making this so long, as I didn’t have time to make it short.

So…

I believe something needs to be cleared up. Let me explain with some facts about the orchard.

First, the orchard has no phone line. There isn’t any line at all anywhere in the orchard.

Second the orchard does not have a printer.

Third the orchard does not have a computer.

Finally there is no internet at the orchard. And a hotspot just isn’t the same. And the barn blocks whatever signal strength you may get.

There is one person who takes care of all the sign up, printing of who signed up, and web site maintenance for the orchard. Since we need to be at the orchard by 7:30 in the morning. So the morning printing of people who have signed in begins a bit before 7 AM at their home.

This means if you sign up after about 6 in the morning there is a good chance your name won’t be on the check in sheet. So please, I encourage you to sign in as early as possible.

Now with that said, please don’t get upset with the people checking in. If you have signed up early enough your name will be on the check in sheet, they will mark you off on the sheet, and then tally up the count.

It would be a lot easier if everyone checked in. That way we wouldn’t even need the paper sheets. However, about 2/3 of the people in the orchard never bother or don’t even want to try to sign up. So we have no choice but to check to see if you have signed up, and if not, we have to do the paper thing. It’s a legal requirement for the IRS and FDA.

What does the electronic sign up do for us. Let me explain.

For instance, today we had 50 people who signed up for the morning shift. But 124 showed up. So a couple of things are occurring here. So that’s 70 we didn’t expect (but are happy you showed up), but far fewer than needed. So first, because the orchard manager really needs over 200 people per shift to get all the peaches picked he is concerned and starts work the local leaders to get more people in the orchard. Your stake leaders get stressed, the orchard manager gets stressed, and we don’t know how many boxes will be picked, or how many refridgerated trucks need to be ordered for the day (if the peaches don’t get in the trucks to stay cold, you might as well toss them). Also since there are a limited number of service missionaries, it would be good to keep them healthy. Our schedule is somewhat dependent on how many volunteers we can count on. While you see us parking cars, driving you around to where the fruit is, and helping with questions there is still a lot that needs to be done before and after you leave. The orchard needs to be watered. This starts at 6 in the morning. And yes someone is there each day cleaning filters, repairing broken heads, checking pumps, and other items that need to be done with the irrigation. We mow the grass between the rows of trees each week. I don’t know how many rows that is, but it’s about 24 acres. That happens almost everyday before or after the you leave. There is also the all the maintenance of tractors, Kubotas, trailers, and four wheelers that also must be done daily. The list is long. I won’t even go into what improvements are being done inside the barn.

This orchard is a special place. Sometimes it’s a crazy place. But it is God’s orchard and it’s here for a purpose. There is a shared feeling of purpose and brotherhood here. Of ownership for our actions and being able to see what as a group we have done to help the orchard grow, thrive, and improve. Believe me, there are several missionaries here who have served 5, 6, 7, and 8 years. We have more metal in our hips and knees as well as other problems than should be legally allowed. It is by God’s Grace many of us function as well as we do, but you won’t hear anyone complain. There are daily tender mercies here.

So if you happen to have signed in late and your name doesn’t appear on the list, we only ask for your service and understanding. We appreciate and honor your time and service.

Thanks.

Finished Harvest for this week. See you next week.

This is a short report. With all the help of these last two days, all the peaches that can be picked have been picked. We will start harvest again next Monday the 18th.

Thank you.

A Harvest Update.

Wow again! You guys just keep slamming it. We had a tremendous turnout this morning. Everyone moved through the orchard like they had done this before. It was good to see so many that I recognize from all the times you have already volunteered this year. The harvested peaches today looked good, the box pickup was quick because we started when a row of trees were done. The work at the shed was as organized as it could be considering all the new help. But everyone was a quick learner.

We will be picking again tomorrow. They type of peach we will be picking tomorrow needs to be full color, round and without significant blemishes. Do not pick anything that is green. If you question if any peach is green, don’t pick it. It it is so close as to be questionable, it will probably be ripe soon enough.

Thanks for your service. I have a few pictures from today I need to go add to the picture gallery so I don’t need to bump my gums any more here.

There are no afternoon shifts 8/11 through 8/15.

Somehow, someway, people are signing up for afternoon shifts (5:30 to 7:30 PM) for this next week. I don’t know how this slipped into any signup sheets.

There will be no one at the orchard in the afternoon to help you know where to pick. So if you have signed up for any of the afternoon shifts for this week, please change and be at the orchard for the 8:30 - 10:30 AM shift.

Thank you.

Weather, Angels, Thinning, and Help

The weather is the wild card in scheduling harvest. Peaches will do what they are supposed to do given their growing stage and the weather. We can’t slow down their growth, or speed up the sugar production of the fruit. We can only make some reasonable judgment about the current state of the peach growth and when to expect it to be ready to pick. So a week or so ago the fruit looked like it would be ready to pick by the 16th of August.

Surprise. Surprise. The sustained hot weather created conditions where certain parts of the orchard are now ready to harvest. But that’s only the first of the surprises. The second surprise as some would say, it’s the Angels adding more peaches to the orchard. This seems to occur after all the thinning is done. Suddenly some of the trees seem to produce ‘clusters’ of peaches. These usually are in the higher branches and certainly doing their best to hide from us. These clusters are not like grape clusters. Groups of small peaches grouped tightly together. We joke that angels are putting back all the thinned small peaches and just taunting us to find them. Usually we have enough time between the end of the thinning sessions and the harvest season, that the service missionaries can take care of these clusters. The key word here is usually.

So here is where the ‘Help’ of this articles title comes in. The two surprises have nearly drained us and we (the service missionaries) need a bit of help. The orchard manager has put out a request to all the stakes to have ‘some’ help next week (August 9, 11-15) to help with this last bit of thinning, and do some picking of the peaches that have ripened faster than expected. There is no specific number of people being requested, and we aren’t asking for help other than in the morning from about 8:30 to 10:30 or so. If you can come and spend an hour or two helping us catch up, it would be greatly appreciated by all us old folks. Full scheduling starts August 16th.

A word about the thinning. Most of the work will be going through a row of trees and using a 3 to 4 foot PVC pipe to poke around and find the clusters. Some are easily spotted. Some are hiding in thick bunches of leaves. A bit of poking and prodding usually is enough to pop these clusters and leave only a couple of the peaches that can grow. I don’t have any pictures of what a cluster looks like, but the picture on the home page of this website shows you what they are not. That is a picture of a loaded tree. It is so loaded that it is possible that the branches may break. So in addition to everything described above, we tie the branches up or shore them up some way so the branches don’t break. We really don’t want to lose that branch. We want to be good stewards of the Lord’s orchard. But sometime we need a little help.

The Lord has been good to the orchard. The peaches are put to good use and all the help you give is appreciated. The people who benefit from you service may not know your name, but they are grateful that you are all faithful and want to do good things. As service missionaries we are the second beneficiaries of your service, we can’t do it all and for all you do, we are grateful.