When you can look out your bedroom window, and see a view that is so magnificent in all its glory, all the white and pink blossoms bursting forth to show the world that another spring has arrived, it seems impossible to believe that this beautiful scene could be the cause of untold worries for the farmers that have brought it forth. Ever since the end of fruit season last fall you have been looking forward to a new year, to beautiful  blossoms, and a wonderful crop of cherries, or apples, or peaches.  Being a fruit farmer, or a member of his or her family means that you always have these expectations of the next years crop sitting somewhere in the back of your mind.

Most years you are lucky, the trees bloom, somehow the dreaded freezes just manage to avoid you and you end up with the wonderful fruit that Michigan is so famous for. Pleasing all of your customers is one of the main goals in your life. There is nothing like handing an apple to someone and seeing their smile in return.

But right now we are under a freeze warning for our area tonight. We don’t actively farm ourselves anymore, but all of our neighbors do.  The laborers in our area are all dependent upon good crops.  Our customers and that includes us, all want this great Michigan fruit. So we do the best we can, we watch the thermometers hourly , and we send our prayers soaring upward in hopes that all will be well this time.

But one thing I do know, no matter how cold it gets tonight, no matter if the pistils turn black, the farmers will be determined to try again next season because this is just what farmers do, they plant, they grow, and they pray. And somehow it works, and we are all thankful for that. .