Leaf Carpet | Orondo, WA | October 2019
Autumn Orchard #1 | Orchardists talk passionately about fruit color and quality, irrigation and pesticides, difficulties in hiring and keeping workers. But I’ve never been privy to a fruit farmer exclaiming over an orchard’s autumn colors. “It’s so darn beautiful,” the grower might say. “Those golden leaves, that shimmering light … it makes all that sweat and worry very much worthwhile.” Or not. I’m guessing there must be other rarely-discussed autumn perks — the scent of ripened fruit, all the apples you can eat and a satisfying, post-harvest stillness. Imagine: A grower stands at season’s end in silence, in gratitude, among her resting partners, the trees.
Bonus photo:
Autumn colors in an orchard south of Rock Island, WA.
IrwinFoto 