It's been a while

This is the first time I've made it into the town of Shepparton since my last post. Everytime I venture into "Shepp" I'm struck by the number of obese people living here. There's been more than enough work to keep me away from them out on the Orchard. Last time I wrote we were thinning apricots, these have since been harvested over the Christmas/New Year period, with some rain mid-harvest causing many of them to split their sides, rendering them suitable only for jam rather than canning. Since then I've been thinning apples and helping run out trellis wire on a new orchard. Also done a couple of days picking some early pears called Clapps as well as a bit o work in the packing shed. The real business however is about to begin, with the main crop of pears (biginning with "Williams") and peaches ("204's") about to reach maturity. The backpackers and itinerent workers are aleady arriving in town in search of work.