Cherries have always been my favorite fruit...ever since I can remember. I'd rather have a cherry pie than a birthday cake. And I can eat all the Bing cherries I want in the summertime with no adverse affects. So, on a drive through the mountains one afternoon just above Tum Tum, near our house, I passed by a HUGE cherry tree. It must have been planted when the pioneers or the early Indians roamed the country. It was at least 40 feet tall...or as tall as the ceiling in our ward chapel. And most amazing of all, every branch was covered, laden and drooping with red cherries!
As I filled a grocery bag I wondered why no one else seemed to be interested in this tree. Oh well, all the more for me, as I grabbed handful after handful of the precious fruit and once in a while popped one into my mouth.
After washing the cherries it was a long and tedious task (since I don't have a cherry pitter) to cut the pit out of each and every one. Finally, when I had a big pot full, I added water and sugar and set it on the warm burner of the stove. As I waited for the mixture to warm up and start boiling, I started to see little white things floating in the warm water. As I watched, the water got warmer and warmer and the white things began to wiggle!
The lesson of this story is to never eat the fruit of a wild and uncared-for cherry tree. My sister Rosalin said that once a tree is invested like that the only solution is to chop it down. And she thinks that there may be more to the story of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree.
As I filled a grocery bag I wondered why no one else seemed to be interested in this tree. Oh well, all the more for me, as I grabbed handful after handful of the precious fruit and once in a while popped one into my mouth.
After washing the cherries it was a long and tedious task (since I don't have a cherry pitter) to cut the pit out of each and every one. Finally, when I had a big pot full, I added water and sugar and set it on the warm burner of the stove. As I waited for the mixture to warm up and start boiling, I started to see little white things floating in the warm water. As I watched, the water got warmer and warmer and the white things began to wiggle!
The lesson of this story is to never eat the fruit of a wild and uncared-for cherry tree. My sister Rosalin said that once a tree is invested like that the only solution is to chop it down. And she thinks that there may be more to the story of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree.
