A stroll through the orchard

I had opportunity to go through the orchard that I spent so many years at; so many happy hours. I was asked to give my former boss's spouse a ride to the doctor, so soon as we got back to the orchard, I took off to see what I could see.

The first thing I saw was a deer taking off at the other end of a row of trees. So quick I did not see if it had antlers or not. And when I got to that end of the orchard, I saw a flock of turkeys. I actually wondered was it a mom and her almost grown babies. I was too far away to take good pictures, and by the time I got closer, they were long gone.

It was the middle of the day--sure not a good time for taking pictures but I snapped a few anyway. The orchard has been sprayed not too long back--you can see it clearly on the apples. I hope I can make it out there at a more opportune time before the fall is over.

Visiting out there sure made me miss the good old days. The original boss I had was so much fun to work for and with. The song that I have playing sure makes me think of when I first worked there. We didn't eat out under a maple, but we did sit around the dinner table and he would tell us tales of their childhood. As well as tales of when he was an insurance man.

I bet it is one of the only jobs where anyone would ever come home sick from laughing so hard. When I first started working there is when his youngest son got married. The girl he married and I have been friends from the moment we seen each other. Even though they lived in another state, she used to come home in the fall and spend it helping them grade apples. And later it got till she would come for different periods of time at different times of the year.

Well, he would have us as an audience when we were working around the grading room, or greenhouse, etc....jobs where you could carry on a conversation. And he would get us laughing till we could not do much work...and there was a time or two where I became physically sick from laughing so hard: headache and stomach ache. And yes I remember the stories but I just cannot tell them the way he could. And his wife would add comments to the tales to elaborate on some of the details.

This is just part of what I miss...he is gone now. Passed away after I quit, but he had had a stroke in 2001 and not been able to talk since. There are times though that I can just hear him making one of his witty comments...he would always say, "You could be more like me if you tried" or some such nonsense. Oh, and if I or anyone mentioned having a headache he would always tell us that if he had a head like ours his would hurt, too.

I will close now...the song that is playing just always makes me think of him and his wife....and the old John Deere tractor.