During the lunch rush at Country Cafe in Easton, customers come for the comfort food... and the apricot pies, cobbler and jam. But right now, they're out of apricots and down to their last jar of jam. Owner Elaine Bamping says, "I'm out completely so I'm waiting for them to get ripe so I can start all over again, so I'm excited because right now I have to buy frozen fruit and I don't like it."
What she does like are the fresh, tree-ripened, organic apricots from down the street at "Two Sisters U-Pick Apricots." So much so that she and other customers are adopting trees for $150. Each of the 167 trees in the Easton orchard on Lincoln and Fig yields about 400 pounds of apricots.
"People can come out, they can pick the tree want, then they can invite their friends and family. Hey come out with me on such and such date. Let's make it a group affair, pick the tree, you take what you can. Make what you can. Share it with your family and friends."
Co-owner Sarah Parker and her sister came up with the concept to help with the expense of maintaining and watering their three acre family farm. And to help people feel a closer connection to what they eat. It's working -- their Facebook page is filled with posts from customers showing off apricot cobblers and jams, even baby food.
For now, the only sounds in the orchard are the sprinklers and occasional wildlife. But come harvest time in late May and early June, they're hoping for the sounds of many happy families enjoying the fruits of their labor.
