Thanks Ambo. Yes, from our garden.  Seeing lots of pears and a few apples on trees that never bear fruit.  Lots of kiwis and peaches coming too! However, it also looks like a year with more worms and pests (since we don't spray). Seeing a lot of caterpillars in the apple trees.  Global warming has mixed blessings!

David, do you ever feel comfortable spraying a light oil or some other determined benign coating that helps the plant amidst insects? Or is there such a thing?

Cool, on the fruit trees. Back when I had a home, a family and a life, I planted many fruit and nut trees at our place in SoCal. Keeping up with it all often seemed a bit much for me. Unless one mostly truly loves the tasks and the putterings, eh.

Yes, I'm comfortable with some light oil sprays, and I try to do that for my small peach tree when I remember...but for my larger apple trees, it does not seem to be time or cost effective.

And yes, it's a challenge to keep up with all the pruning and maintenance. I enjoy it, but I also enjoy being inside and reading, studying, and thinking about philosophy and spirituality, not to mention being active in my community, holding down a job, etc.

This reminds me of when I was a kid. Way back then (the 50s) farmers would load up their trucks and drive up and down our small town streets ringing a bell and proclaiming loudly: "Strawberries, blueberries, cherries." We'd rush out to the truck to get fresh fruit that cost less than the supermarket and came right from the picking.

Edwyrd,

When I was a kid (the 60s), our summer vacation from school became a summer job in the local berry fields of Whatcom County.  School teachers were recruited as supervisors, and would drive old retired school buses around the city to pick us up and transport us to the fields in the county.  The strawberries rarely ripened before school vacation began in June. 

At that time there were also migrant farm workers from Mexico, but us school kids did the majority of the picking.  These days it's all done by the migrant farm workers.  

Statistics from Whatcom Farm Friends:

• More than 85 % of Washington's Red Raspberries are porduced in Whatcom County.  More than 65% of the U.S. Red Raspberries are produced in Whatcom County.  
• Whatcom County raises the largest per capita crop of red raspberries in the world, with 99 growers harvesting over 7,200 acres.
• The raspberry industry provides 6,000 seasonal jobs for the 6 week harvest period
• About 280 acres of strawberries are in production in Whatcom County
• Some are grown for the local retail and U-Pick markets.  The majority are sold for premium products, i.e. gourmet ice cream, jams, etc.
• There are approximately 2,500 acres in blueberry production

Oh, I should add that the difference in taste between our fresh, local, in season berries and the out of season California strawberries is like the difference between night and day.