bundu bashing

Ok so it's been a while, but I've been quite busy for a change. With the onset of Spring, I seem to have undergone a mental shift of gear, and it's all systems go. It's not like I suddenly have too much to do, it's just that I want to clean out that cupboard, or be proactive on this job, or do an extra load of washing and sort and fold AND put away, or take the recycling to the depot... or tidy up the garage - even sweep it...

I've started going to pilates classes again (I've had a break from it pretty much all winter while my back was a bit dodgy) which has been quite a shock to the system- aching muscles! I've only been the last 2 Fridays, which has coincided with another project for the last 2 weekends: picking avocados. My father-in-law has some avocado trees planted on a bank...about a 30-40° slope - when I say "some", I estimate maybe 50 - 60 trees? It's hard to tell. So, because of the slope, it's not like one can drive in a cherry picker and stand in the bucket while being hoisted up to the top branches. No, one has to climb up the trees and scramble down, or up, the bank to offload them into crates which, once filled, one has to take to the bottom (or top) of the bank to load in the car or trailer. Some serious lifting required!( A great bicep and tricep workout.) Of course, just to throw in a further spanner, there is a thick growth of blackberry around, which is a real PAIN. Not only do you have to scramble up and down the slope, climb the trees, and climb down them with a bag full of avocados (harnessed on, like a baby carrier - in fact I felt like I was 9 months pregnant again - no make that 15 months! Ha ha) but you also have to dodge and untangle yourself from the bramble.

I loved it. I loved climbing the trees and negotiating a way to get further up - to reach that out-of-range fruit dangling there enticingly... And it's been so very, very long since I spent time in a tree. It was like being a child again - brilliant! All the while I was imagining my mother expressing concern over me being too precariously placed, or taking too big a risk, but at the same time I knew that she would love to be up here with me doing even more crazy things with her acrobatic skills. Anyhow, I really felt happy to be doing something with a purpose. It was a real workout and I was absolutely shattered after not very long! My pilates-shocked muscles have been screaming at me! Plus, I can't wear short skirts (as Ben pointed out) what with all the bruises and scratches)..."Show me a short skirt in my wardrobe" is what I should have said. Never mind, they'll go away.

So now my next mission is to sell some of them so they don't go to waste! The smaller ones, that can't be sent to the shops, have been bagged (8 in a bag) and are being sold in the local deli where the in-laws live, but there are so many that I am sure the market there is flooded, so I volunteered to bring back 3 crates to try and sell here - only $3 a bag! Organic, tree-ripened avocados...hmmmmm.

I've sold one crate so far to other mothers at a playgroup. Now, how to shift the next 2 crates!?