An Eclectic Mind

The Blower

July 3rd, 2008

What was prowling beneath the canopy of trees as I dried.

In my “I Dry Cherries” blog post, I mentioned a blower at work in two of the orchards when I arrived to dry. I didn’t actually see the blower; it was beneath the canopy of cherry tree branches. But I knew it was down there because something was disturbing the branches and leaves from below.

This morning, as we sat on the patio outside our motel room, waiting for the weather to worsen, we saw a grower go to work with a blower in his field across the river. I’m not sure, but I think he might be growing grapes over there. As I type this, he’s driving up and down the rows of his field, towing a very loud blower behind him. The blower is spitting out what’s likely to be some kind of pesticide, but, for all I know, could be fertilizer or pollen or anything.

The point is, it’s blowing big, as you can see here:

Blower

Now imagine the blower without whatever the grower is spreading. It’s running and its blowing air. Lots of air. It’s making a ton of noise — so much that the guy operating the equipment can’t hear the helicopter moving into position nearby. And he can’t see the helicopter because the tree branches are overhead, also hiding him from view.

But the leaves on the trees are going crazy. He’s drying them from below; I’m drying them from above.

I sure hope he wears ear protection.

Flying, Summer Jobs aviation, cherry drying, helicopters, Washington