“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”
~Khalil Gibran
By Catherine Austin Fitts
The peach trees were planted behind the office in Hickory Valley and in the pasture five years ago. They grew slowly. Most of the trees that we planted did not make it.
At first we thought it was the almond trees that were growing. It turns out the deer got them young. We figured the peach trees were indeed peach trees two years ago when we started getting hard green peaches. Then last year the next crop grew orange and yellow but were still small and hard as rocks.
This year with lots of rain the trees burst forth with huge bunches of small orange and yellow peaches that were still hard as rocks. Like hard balls. I thought peaches were supposed to be like small soft balls just like the kind I get at the store.
I just figured the trees were still young and maybe it would take another season. So hundreds of peaches have been gathering on the ground. It took a tree branch cracking off the largest tree to cause me to realize how heavy these hard little peaches were and maybe pruning and shaking them occasionally would be a good idea.
Last week my assistant came into the office and said there was a beaver in the pasture eating the peaches. Sure enough, there he was. Plump and fat eating the peaches under the tree. The stream is quite a hike from my pasture. How in the world did he figure it out and come that far?
That area of my property is more wild than not. We have a long large fox who has been using the barn to birth and raise her litters. She gets upset when I return from my travels. She howls around the house and leaves markings on the porch as if to say, “remember, this is my place too. Keep out of the barn – or else.”
Saturday when I got up there was a young doe who had jumped the fence and was eating peaches standing under the same tree as the beaver had patronized.
My assistant came back in today having solved the mystery. I had brought in a bunch of the peaches to see if they would soften up if picked and stored. She cut one up and said that they were fine as is. Sure enough, they may be hard as rocks, but they were chewy, sweet and delicious as could be.
So there are hundreds of delicious peaches out back – a reminder of how life unfolds in the fullness of time.
