Sweet Fruit

Oak trees with lots of post rain new growth.

On my drive home from Marble Falls yesterday, I saw the tail end of a large rainbow touching the ground. It was off toward the east where the rain was falling, created by the sun, low in the west. It stayed with me for most of the drive. I was tempted to stop and take a picture, but sometimes there are things you’d rather have live in your memory than in the cloud. I drove on.

I was in Marble Falls to pick up my groceries. The pantry needed replenishing, so I replenished it. My pickup time was eight. A good time for summer. It’s still daylight when you get there and daylight as you drive home. It’s a different story in the winter when an eight o’clock pick up time feels like you’re doing it right before bed, and its dark all the way around. And you feel certain your personal shopper would rather be home with their family than carting groceries to your car in the cold.

Today I’m going to get ready to pick peaches. The ground beneath the big tree is littered with fallen fruit. I need to pick it up and sort it. Some of it is still good for canning. After that, friends are coming over on Saturday and we’ll pick and actually can. We had no fruit last year; the tree was bare because we pruned it. This year, with lots of new wood, we’re in the peaches again. Sweet fruit. Sweet time. Sweet friends. Maybe we’ll work in a dip in the pool because, grand kids.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale