(Continued from May 21, 2010)
In response to my hyperbole about her great quantity of fruit trees, Thea exclaimed with a laugh: “Very interesting exaggeration!” Then, pensively: “However, I may have the largest orchard in the county.”
“I imagine that pruning all those trees is an enormous task.”
“It is also very costly. Two professionals spent a couple of months in the orchard this year. There was a bit more work because the former owners did not get the pruning job done the previous year.”
“Is there a way of neutralizing that extra expense?”
“Aunt Dorothy’s accountant has suggested that I sell a portion of the fruit crop. He had already contacted a reliable retailer. Although I dislike diminishing the amount of fruit available for my charity, I will follow his advice. Because of the economic downturn, the return on my investments has been reduced and I don’t want to incur a loss.”
“That accountant is an extremely valuable person for your organization.”
“He does my books and, day or night, he is available for any advice I may need. And, he does it all for free. He says that it is his way of contributing to charity. He likes the idea of being able to witness charitable action in progress.”
We had entered the greenhouse and, within seconds, the earthy smell had a favorable effect on me. It made me recall that, as a youth, I had spent many pleasant hours working in the flower business. My employer was a nice gentleman who paid me reasonably good wages and the green house was nice and warm in the wintertime.
Grape vines occupied the entire left side of Thea’s greenhouse. She explained to me that most of them were table grapes, but about a quarter of them were Zinfandel and therefore more suitable for making wine. She said to me, in jest: “You are probably an expert wine maker.”
It so happened that I had experience in wine making. A friend of mine in France made his own wine every autumn. He had a number of vines in his backyard and he combined the yield from those with grapes from North Africa. I participated in the wine making for three consecutive years. So, I told my daughter: “I would not consider myself an expert, but I am familiar with all the details pertaining to turning your Zinfandel grapes into tasty wine.”
(To be continued)