Cherries are a happy fruit.
I’ve blogged before about how our little Oxfordshire village was once the centre of the cherry-growing world. How many hundreds of years back our cherry heritage goes depends on which direction Google takes you, but I’ve seen mention of the 1500s, which is at least mildly impressive. There are stories of professional bird-scarers starting their work at 5am during the fruiting season. Frankly, that sounds like a job I could do, other than the getting-up-early bit. I’d quite enjoy leaping around a cherry orchard shouting wildly at the birds.
Sadly, precious few cherries are grown commercially round here any more, but we still have plenty of remnants of that once-munchable industry. First, the poplar windbreaks that these days enclose sheep and cattle, but which once sheltered precious orchards:-
And the historic Cherry Barns, that are now a commercial premises. And if you wander the many paths around the village, you’ll find remaining cherry trees in hedgerows and verges, currently laden with swelling fruit. Why have the birds not stolen those unprotected beauties?
In the pub across the road from our home, there’s a picture from the 1950s of cherry pickers in the village. My photo of it is slightly rubbish, but I felt like an idiot hovering next to the bar taking pictures of the wall, so I had to hurry:-
Of course, this is a knitting and crochet blog, so I started thinking about making cherries, and YES!, my book of knitted/crochet flowers* has a cherry pattern. Here’s what I’ve made thus far:-
And in the spirit of yarn-bombing, I’ve hung it on the front door in honour of the Cherry Season. True locals will understand the sentiment:-
There is one cherry orchard still very much in production locally, so I took the Toddler Twinnage to buy some of their produce:-
They’re dark and fat and luscious. You’re welcome to share them, but you’ll have to hurry, because their further survival is likely to be measureable only in minutes.
Now, before I finish, I do feel that I should mention the Storky Scissors. Because to be very grudgingly, belligerently fair, they do seem to get a disproportionate amount of attention and admiration on this blog. But I’m Not Jealous At All. Nooooo. We haven’t had a photo of them yet in this post, have we? OK, here they are:-
(Want to know about the background in this picture? It’s a miniature and surprisingly fluffy replica of the rug that covered Freud’s consulting couch after he moved to London. Little-known and slightly weird fact: you can buy pictures of Freud’s couch naked, with its adorning rug removed. That’s a bit weird, even for me. Anyway, that’s what you get for having a psychologist write the blog post you’re reading.)
* 100 Flowers To Knit And Crochet, by Lesley Stanfield.
I really do love those scissors, they are so quirky. I’ve never seen anything like them before……… and the fact that I still like them – and you – despite being displayed on something hat once belonged to Freud says a lot – I’m just not a fan of his theories, give me Mr Jung any day 🙂
I also love your sweet double cherry stalk hanging at your front door. I especially like that they hang there unadorned – pure and simple – reminding one and all of what used to be the work of your village…..nice touch!!
Thank you. (And I’m not a Freudian, I promise.)
I could send you some of these scissors if you’d like them?
Ooooooooooh 🙂 yesssss please! Could we maybe do a swap? Do I have something you would like?
Honestly, I don’t need anything in return. (But I’m so in awe of your artistic skills that a quick sketch would be treasured…) If you want to exchange addresses, I’m at thetwistedyarn [@] outlook [dot] com …
Done and sent! 🙂
🙂
Those cherries look yummy, my mouth is watering!! Enjoy
🙂
Your photos are lovely.
Wow, The 1500s is very impressive history. I’m glad there’s still places to see or purchase cherries.
Your crocheted cherries are pretty. I like that you have them displayed on your door.
Your charming scissors have a mystique all their own.
The history of the couch rug is somewhat unsettling. lol
Thank you. And yes, I agree re the couch rug.
Yum… no cherries here, just a gazillion raspberries!
Raspberries are just as good. (Spoken as someone who reverently harvests approximately three raspberries from her canes every night.) Sounds as though yours are faring rather more impressively.
Ooh and I notice lots of red-currants nearly ready too 🙂
🙂 indeed.
Mmmm . . . cherries make me cheery! They don’t grow around here so I pay ridiculous money to buy them–it’s worth it. I have stork scissors, too, and, now that I know they’re so blog-worthy, I’ll start including them in all my photos! Now I’m going to look for Freud’s naked couch . . .
Yes, we need to see your scissors! Please! Someone (can’t recall who) utterly crushed my confidence and entire raison d’etre the first time I posted a picture of my stork scissors, by informing me that her stork scissors were more ornate than mine. Really, what reason is there for my continued existence? Pretty much none. 🙁
I have a storker.
So, now stork scissors are becoming a competitive sport? Her stork scissors might be more ornate but can she knit a mandala?? I think not.
I enjoyed the history lesson–and I love cherries!
Thank you. 🙂
Cherry lovely! Living in the Rheinland, we don’t have any lack of cherries at the moment too ? I have some right angled embroidery scissors I’m going to have to share on my blog ?
Oooh, enjoy your luscious cherries. And yes, I do think you should share your scissors. 🙂
“I’d quite enjoy leaping around a cherry orchard shouting wildly at the birds.” Huh, I’d really like to see that. You have the perfect hair to make quite a striking cherry orchard bird-scarer. You could post a video? : )
Ha ha ha, any cherry-orchard-leaping is going to be entirely off-camera!
Drat.
Don’t want to break/horrify the camera.
Hey, I nominated you for most inspiring blogger. You can read it here http://tetheredtothetube.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/playing-catch-up/. Thank you for being an inspiration to me. 🙂
Oh wow! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooo much!!! 🙂
Love those cherries. I made a bag charm of knitted cherries once and the real thing is super tasty too.
Oh wow, do you have any photos of the bag charm?
Yeah I think the charms attached to a bag in my cupboard. I’ll dig it out 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
I have a fondness for cherries, because I have a sweet memory of managing to order them in a market in Paris with the man knowing that I wasn’t French, but not that English was my native tongue!
That’s an impressive achievement! (People always immediately speak to me in English when I go abroad, even when I’m trying to speak their language. I must remember to get that Union Jack tattoo removed from my forehead.)
Yummy post, beautiful pictures, lovely scissors!
Thank you. I’m beginning to think that the scissors need their own blog! 🙂
Ooh–I love cherries! When I lived in the Midwest, we would get ours fresh from Michigan, the biggest cherry-growing state in the region.
Yum, local cherries. Sounds gorgeous. 🙂
Scrumptious cherries, are they from the 100 flowers to knit and crochet book by Lesley Stanfield. It is a fab book.
Yup, that’s right about the book. (Sorry if the reference was too buried at the bottom of the post.) I agree that it’s a brilliant book.
PS: hope you’ve received a parcel from me?
Wow! Cherries! I love those knitted cherries! And that cute scissors! Lovely!
Thank you, as ever, from afar. 🙂
I applaud your cherries.
My cherries thank you. 🙂