#247: Apples and Optimism

Ontario’s fruit crop took a major hit during our last cold snap.  All those Niagara fruit trees were seduced into putting forth hopeful buds only have them frozen solid a couple of weeks later.

I feel sorry for the farmers and I feel sorry for myself because I love Ontario fruit and I eat bushels of it all through the year.

The last time I remember a fruit panic like this was probably in the late 70’s.  Florida oranges had frozen in an unseasonable frost, and orange juice supplies were threatened.  My friends and I were sure our kids would go without juice. We bought as much as we could and put it in the freezer, just in case.

In the end, there was enough orange juice to go around and if we didn’t want to pay the increased cost, we convinced our families that apple and grape juices were just as tasty. Somehow we survived. 

If you have been around several decades, you can take the long view about a lot of things, and not feel quite so anxious.  Perhaps that is why healthy old people seem reasonably content.  They know from experience that most of the time, most things turn out alright.       

As for me, I will definitely miss my favourite Honeycrisp apples.  But I am equal to the challenge of finding some new favourite fruits.  It’s good to shake things up a little, even it’s just a fruit salad.