Just as I thought that it was over, Amy says, “hey, how about you get some more?” It took me about 10 seconds to make up my mind. The thrill and excitement of harvesting was overwhelming. That Saturday I went out again for a “few more” and yet, after visiting the trees, it was a different story. The owners told me “just take them all” and you better bet that I did exactly that. After visiting the four trees, I harvested more than 400 more. We now had a total of 700 or so.

Many of them were high up on the trees which required monkey-level climbing and skill, but I enjoyed every single moment of it. I did it slowly without rush. This time I even trimmed the stems at the tree.

Even the dollar-store scarecrows for my classroom thought it was a little funny.