Tis the season…to pick coffee! As the hustle and bustle of
the holidays are upon us, the final rounds of coffee are being harvested here
on the farm. The green trees with their little red berries have helped get me
in the Christmas spirit (O’ Coffee Tree, O’ Coffee Tree…) and Eric and I have
been eager to help bring in the last of the harvest. This week we took an
afternoon, set a goal of 100 pounds, strapped our belly buckets on and got to
work. Although for some reason the
typical clouds didn’t roll in as we hoped, we managed to find a section
of trees shaded by the leaves of a tall avocado tree.
With ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ ringing in my ears (there must be a
million versions of that song played on the radio here) I started picking each
little cherry and dropping it in my bucket. It’s funny to think that when Eric
and I first started working out in the fields, such a repetitious job would
have bored me to tears but as I continued on tree by tree, I found that I was
actually enjoying myself. There I was in the cool breeze, getting exercise,
working alongside my husband in a very peaceful setting, harvesting a product
that people love. What more could you ask for?
That afternoon, we picked a total of 147 pounds and were so
proud of ourselves. So proud, that we got up the next morning and picked
another 50 pounds!
I have to say that spending the holidays farming in Hawaii
is a little weird. I mean, seeing Christmas decorations on the way back from
the beach is just strange to me. Other than the fact that our Christmas will be 'green and bright', we are keeping busy and are in good company here at Kona
Earth. So just to get it out of my system already…Mele Kalikimaka is the thing
to say, on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day. That’s the island greeting that we
send to you from the land where palm trees sway!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
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