A member of my permaculture group, Jenny, offered some of her cherry plums for the picking yesterday, so this morning we found ourselves in Diamond Creek bright and early. Today is forecast to be 39 degrees C, so we tried to beat the heat.

I have never picked plums before (not that it’s difficult), nor have I met Jenny either. This whole notion of sharing what you have so freely is very different to the trade I most of us have become used to. Jenny asked for nothing, but it bought me great pleasure to share the tomato relish I made yesterday. Sharing whatever is abundant in your life not only makes sense, but also brings joy and pleasure.

Signs that the local birds had already been feasting, rather wastefully, were visible all around the plum tree. However Jenny and I climbed ladders to procure what we could and Jasmine (my 4 year old) did a great job of picking up dropped plums. It was a refreshing change to my day, being up a ladder, trying to beat the birds and the heat! I could have stayed there for hours really.

It really felt like Christmas this morning, such abundance on this plum tree, with it’s red, orange and yellow hues against the green foliage. I wish I had brought my camera. Jenny was a real sweetie, we chatted and all enjoyed each others company.

Jenny was telling me that recently she was at Docklands and saw a man on a large yacht with a t-shirt ‘Whoever dies with the most toys wins’. Rightly so, she figured that being dead with lots of toys wasn’t an aspiration of hers. I agree whole-heartedly. Today I had more fun in the boughs of a fruit tree than I could have asked for.

And fear not, we left plenty for the birds!