Moving On

Today marks the end of an era, as MRFC members gather at Palma Sola Park, at 2:00 this afternoon of March 19, in remembrance of Ray Jones. More than three decades have passed since he founded this organization, and all of us who have enjoyed its benefits--- and all of those who ever will--- owe him our gratitude. I’m very glad that I’ve had five years here to learn from Ray and so many other masters.

Today marks the end of another, far less significant era: my four years as weekly blogger at the MRFC websites. At the behest of Pete Ray, and with Ray Jones’ encouragement, I took on the task as a learning experience. I resolved that every Sunday, I would post whatever I could come up with that might be of interest to someone, somewhere. And I’ve enjoyed the experience, even though at times it seemed like Sunday came around every three or four days. But the world is ever-changing, and it’s time for me to devote more of my writing energy elsewhere.

I’ll continue to post articles, when inspiration strikes, and for the time being I’ll serve as blog editor. Any submission of writing about fruit trees and related topics, from anyone, anywhere, will be duly considered. If it’s appropriate for the MRFC Articles section of our site, I’ll help with whatever editing may be needed, and post the article and any accompanying photos. Of course each article will carry its writer’s name (unless they prefer to remain anonymous, in which case credit will go to “an author who prefers to remain anonymous”). It doesn’t matter whether you use fancy-dancy, stuck-up elitist words like “behest”, or you don’t know what a dangling participle is. Just write from the heart, and leave it at the “Contact” section of the MRFC website, or email it directly to me, and we’ll see what we can do.

Our writers can share their hard-won knowledge of the unique horticultural conditions of our region. Or they can be the eyes and ears for news from the fruit tree world, or the recorders of the history of our club and of the larger fruit-tree community. They can recount the sights, sounds, and tastes from their travels. Or they can simply brighten our day with their observations, tales, or creative musings. There is much to say, if that is one’s calling.

Supporting the home growing of rare fruit in our region helps to address more different ecological, economic, health, and social challenges than, well, anything else I can think of, and its value is something that all of us, whatever our world view, ought to be able to agree on. Maybe your part in this enterprise is writing articles, or maybe it’s selling fruit and trees, or maybe just growing your own for family and friends, or maybe it’s something else. But however you choose to share this great blessing, I wish you, in one of Ray Jones’ favorite phrases, good growing!