Annual Newsletter 2004

Dear Friends,
A peculiar unsettled feeling has steadily gripped us. It has more to do with the calming thrust of mother nature than to the emotion of family or the turmoil in the world. Despite the wet, the pleasant stretch of grand days has softened our anxiety that has dominated the approach of harvest in the past several years. Last night’s rain was as soothing to us as a kind word and agentle heart. We will savor it. We need to avoid being consumed by things we cannot control if we are to notice our good luck. Each season has a point in which survival appears as fragile asthose early May peach blossoms. Uncle Len warned us time and again, “What cannot be cured,must be endured.”

The idea of family must always dominate despite what anyone else may define as success. On the 4th of July, part of the Gammie clangathered at the farm to celebrate the return of cousins from Florida. Chuck, who had worked as a young boy on the farm, commented on how reassuring it is to recall memories of times less hectic. To watch our children grow up is success. To watch them cast off is always a tearful ride.

Adrianne has completed her third year at University of Cincinnati. She “‘co­oped” inChicago for a couple months, returned home to pick the first raspberry and then set off for theSouth of France for the summer. She finds city life vibrant and as daring as it is to create agarment that could be called fashionable. In both, she perseveres to the finish line.

Ben’s trek in Texas is ongoing. A month ago he came up with a peck of peaches from a growing district west of Austin. But what was missing was the scent of home. His responsibilities at Bury Engineering are expanding and fruitful.

We tend to be anxious for both of them. Are they having too much fun? Are they giving back? Can they avoid being overwhelmed by the unimportant? Growing never stops. Yet, will they ever have those “pastoral” daydreams of a small Ohio country town? Surely, butthey mustnot dwell on them.

Somehow Jacque, Ben and Adrianne will rendezvous in France in early August. Jacque, her brother Joe, and sister Madeline will reunite with their nearby Italian heritage. Ben will catch up with his mates from Scotland, and Adrianne will translate… and Bill will take the road most traveled from home to the barn.

Here’s what to expect this season:

July 11-­13 First peaches (cling­ type)
July 30-Sept.15 Nectarines
August 7-10 Red Haven (freestone) begin
August 10-15 White peaches begin
August 20-Sept.10 Plums
August 25 Pears begin
Sept. 5-10 Gala & Honeycrisp apples begin
Sept. 15-20 Last of Peaches/First of cider
Sept. 11-15 Fall apples/Pick your own begins
Oct. 5-11 Pick your own pumpkins
Oct. 15-31 Cameo &. Fuji apple harvest

Annual Newsletter 2003

Dear Friends,
Frogs chirp in The old quarry behind our home. Rudy studies the sloping meadow to the north for a woodchuck to pursue. Fireflies have yet to mass, but the full weight of a muggy summer’s evening descends and creates a subtle calm at days end, as we await chops on the grill. A happy day. again and again , we muse on what we do and why we do it.

Our Uncle Len often pondered on Alexander Pope’s thought of how. “Hope springs eternal from the human breast”. Morgan Freeman’s character in the movie The Shawshank Redemption said that “Hope is a very dangerous thing”. All of us know the extremes of the spectrum. Our family and the seasons ahead have always been the focus of our hope. Stability is always elusive, yet attainable. We know that hope must be tempered by determination if we are to straighten the curves in the road.

It is said that children enjoy the present because they have neither a past nor the future. When do they emerge from the narrow view ofthe world? Of course it is an ongoing process, but fully impacts moms and dads when “home” becomes a distant place. For the first time in our lives, both Adrianne and Ben will be calling some place other than Berlin Heights home. Adrianne will spend the summer in Cincinnati working in a “boutique” as part of her fashion design study at the university. Ben will launch a “career” in Austin, Texas with an engineering consulting firm. Our tears will well up when they say from time to time, “I’m coming home”.

While Bill and I hope always to celebrate the joy of rural living, our longings will be confirmed as our children push themselves from the porch. Their own making of new lives and new relationships will rivet us as they climb their mountain of hope.

A friend of our farm just called inquiring when Melrose apples will be ready. That query alone is cause for hope. We are grateful to you for trekking down a back country road.

July 10­-15 First peaches (cling­ type)
July 30-Aug.5 Nectarines
August 5-15 Red Haven (freestone) begin
August 10-15 First White peaches
August 15-20 Gala apple harvest
August 20-Sept. 10 Plums
August 25-Sept. 10 Pears
Sept. 10-20 Last of Peaches
Sept. 11-15 Fall apples and pick your own begins
Oct. 10-31 Pick your own pumpkins
Oct. 15-25 Cameo &. Fuji apple harvest

Hope to see you soon!

The Gammie Family

Annual Newsletter 2002

Dear Friends,
The glow of fireflies in the parched corn field behind our home is glorious. A sleepy dusty day has lapsed into a sweltering night that disguises our eagerness for a harvest season. There is no such thing as “just another day.” Yet, enthusiasm cannot be dampened by a month without rain.

After all, this is home. The gist of past thoughts we have shared with you always highlighted home. But its is not sacred, nor should it be. “We talk a good talk about the joys of home, but the truth is we are obsessed with the road” (Time, July 2002)

Ben graduated from Ohio Northern University with a degree in civil engineering in May, and two weeks later he was in Colorado working on a ranch. Perhaps a last fling before “settling in”. Adrianne’s first year at the University of Cincinnati deepened her appetite for fashion. She has declared that next summer she will begin an internship. Jacque is ready for a road trip anywhere. Only Bill appearsto believe that a man’s character is his fate and is content with a glimpse down the road.

Our friend Webster has taken a new course. Mark Twain has said “Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” His death reveals to us that the wag of his tail reflects that the ultimate goal in life is to enjoy it. However, we have a new “Rudy” whose adolescent extremism is a slobbering reminder that reasoning does not always work with child or beast.

While there are always curves in the road, our task is to straighten them out. The weather has been wacky, but we are hopeful for tomorrow.

July 10 First peaches (cling­type)
July 30-Aug.5 Nectarines begin
August 1-15 Red Haven (1st freestone)
August 7-10 First White peaches
August 15-20 Gala apple harvest
August 20-Sept.10 Plums
August 25-30 Pears begin
Sept 10-20 Last of Peaches
Sept. 11-15 Fall apples and pick your own begins
Oct. 15-25 Fuji apples begin

Hope to see you this season!

The Gammie Family

Annual Newsletter 2000

Dear Friends,
As girl growing up on a farm, I seem to judge the quality of the approaching day by the sun streaming into my east bedroom window. If i am jolted awake by this brilliance, the day seemed cheerful and well begun. If it was cloudy, the day loomed uneventful as I tried to go back to sleep. A wise man once said “observation is more of the mind than vision.” While reality and perception can widely differ, the growing season has been beset by cloudy days and persistent rains. This unwelcome consistency interferes with ideals. Thus, the urge to sleep in.

Home is where the heart is, but the heart must roam. These are words that the Gammie family has brought new meaning to. What Ben thought would be a semester abroad in Scotland is going on month ten. The excitement of rugby games, “trekking” the highlands, and exploring the European continent with friends from Belgium and beyond, was much too to do in the short time he had planned to stay. Mom, Dad & I went for a short visit over Christmas to Glasgow and London to see what all the rage was, and found it to be true. While the weather was lacking, the tearful reunion was wonderful. We now await with anticipation, especially Mom, for hi return around mid July, hopefully in time for peach season.

Although our roots have now been spread, we still find that the rest of the world is not home. There is little in life more satisfying than to drive down Mason Road and watch the apple trees blooming row after row, or sit on the back porch after a long day in the orchard, and rub Webster’s belly (a habit that seems to enjoy more and more at his tender age of 10). These always make June the transitional month. A short lull works its’ way into the frantically busy days of preparation and harvest. Home is truly where the heart is, and where it will remain forever.

This strong sense of harvest that will peak in autumn, was the first felt when Dad brought in the first six peaches yesterday. I again have found myself working alongside Dad in the orchards, as well as seeing a gown in preparation to run for the local Basket Festival queen. Mom has been enjoying the summer. the rigor required to energize a classroom and planning the annual 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. is readily transferred to garden, flowers, and of course mowing. My father remains the busiest man I know, yet I fear the farm demands too much.

Due to an early spring and wettest May & June northern Ohio has seen in a long time, events are a bit early this year. Here is what we expect:

July 10-15 First peaches (cling type)
July 25-Aug. 10 Red Haven season (1st freestone peach)
Aug. 5-10 Nectarines begin
Aug. 10 First white peaches
Aug. 15 Gala apple harvest
Aug. 15-Sept. 10 Plums
Aug. 20-25 Pears begin
Sept. 10-20 Last of Peaches
Sept. 5-15 Fall apples & pick your own begins
Oct. 15-25 Fuji apples begin

Hope to see you this season.

The Gammie Family

Annual Newsletter 1998

There are moments when we all long for the quiet of evening time. But not this day. Jacque just returned from retrieving Ben from a weekend flight to Chicago to visit a schoolmate. Adrianne is off to her first driving lesson. Bill rushes in to head out to one of his many meetings.

“Shoe” observed in the comics a couple days ago that “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” Jacque is immersed in completing her graduate school work this summer. Adrianne’s 4-H and school activities have not taken second seat to coming of age on a tractor. Even though Ben completed the challenge of a year of Civil Engineering at Ohio Northern University, he wanted “one more summer on the farm.” Bill continues to find joy in his work that is often hard for the family to understand.

Adrianne’s and Ben’s grandad commented many years ago that “Life is defined not by its drama, but by its routine.” Somehow, this family can transform ~outine into drama. Our local agricultural extension agent has pointed out that the farming community is an “endearing and enduring;’ lot. He articulated well that transition from routine to drama. Some Ohio fruit growers have experienced horrific weather this year. We have had a little hail, but not the devastation of others. For this we are thankful.

The season is two to three weeks ahead oflast year, with the first few peaches being picked now. Here’s what is in store:

June 15 -July 27 Peaches begin (cling type)
July 30-Aug. 10 Redhavens begin (freestone)
Aug. 1-5 Nectarines begin
Aug. 10-15 Apples begin – Paula Red
Aug. 15 Gala apples
Aug. 10 -Sept. 1 Plums
Aug. 20 -Sept. 20 Pears
Sept. 10-15 Last of peaches
Sept. 5-15 Fall apples & pick your own begins

Hope to see you!

The Gammies