Waste Not - Want Not

I often wonder if we change as we age, or we just find our true core values and follow those instead of trying to please others? I was brought up as an urbanite with the focus being on how much stuff you had determined how successful you were.

Somewhere along life's paths, I've either developed a penchant for living in farming communities, or it's always been there and I'm just following my natural tendencies. I'm not sure which it is, but I love living in an agricultural area (well, maybe not the smell of freshly spread manure, but everything has it's ups and downs).

The wet, cold June we had morphed into a hot, sweltering July and between the two, the fruit, berries, and nut trees flourished. The abundance of apples on the trees has branches breaking from the weight of it's fruit. All the fruit seemed to be ready at the same time, and one simply could not eat as much as was available.

The only thing I've noticed lately is that there are numerous houses and areas of apple, pear, and nut trees, laden with their harvest, dropping their fruit on the ground to rot. I just don't understand that. If you can't, or don't want to pick your fruit, why not ask if someone would like to come and pick it? We have a fb page for our community that you can mention something like that and whoever answers first would be the one you'd give your contact info to, so you're not inundated with people.

Along the trails in the US I noted the same thing, apple trees sagging under the weight of the fruit - and the fruit just going to waste. I noted one house in the community next to me has bags of pears and apples they sell out front of their house. Sure, they had to pick it, but at least it's not going to waste. In fact, I'm going to drive by there today and pick some up.

I think the most unfortunate part is that there are people that would willingly pick the fruit to can or whatever they do with it, to help feed their family in the winter. Many of these same people will give the owner of the tree some of what they've made as a thank you. Seems like a heck of a deal to me, so I wonder what kind of circumstances people have that they don't utilize the harvest nature provides for them?

It's just an observation, as I grew up with fruit trees in our back yard, and picking and canning the fruit (along with eating it fresh), was all part and parcel of owning these trees. It helped feed us over the winter, especially when money was tight.

I might be tempted to just go and pick some of the fruit I see going to waste, but not before checking with the homeowner. Unless it's on a boulevard - then permission isn't necessary.

Waste not - want not.