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Friday 2nd February
G'day people! We are writing to you on this update with fingers and arms that can barely move after our first week of pear picking! We both knew that fruit picking was going to be pretty strenuous but I don;t think even a run up Mount Everest could have physically prepared us for the strain it would have on our bodies!
The week started off predictably tough, the first row of trees we were given to pick were the oldest ones in the orchard and were therefore huge and multi branched. They took ages to pick the fruit off and on our first day we only managed to pick 4 boxes full of pears between us for the whole day. With our bodies aching and our heads still dizzy from climbing the ladders all day we retired early to bed to confront the second day of picking. The second day got off to much better start, we finished the row of trees we were on and began on a row of trees much smaller than the first and the fruit was much bigger too meaning you didn;t have to pick quite as much to fill the basket up. Around 3 o'lock in the afternoon disaster struck when Kerry twanged a twig into her eye and then couldn't get the dirt out of her eye for the next 3 hours until eventually Joe came along and decided we should call it a day and get Kerry to hospital to have her eye flushed out. An hour and half later Kerry's eye was flushed out and she was sporting a nice looking pirates eye patch for the next day until her eye had accepted the anticeptic. She spent the following day in bed in the dark as her eye had gone pretty pusy and she didn't look too good at all. This left me to pick up the mantle of solo fruit picker for the day, which I have to say was not only daunting due to the fact that I would have to be picking fruit by myself but mostly I felt sad because it was the longest period I had been away from Kerry for the past 3 months. Regardless I battled on and completed 3 boxes, which I didn't think was a bad effort.
Kerry was back fruit picking yesterday as her eye had healed pretty much back to normal and we both decided to purchase some cheap sun glasses from the supermarket, however the only glasses I could find were Spiderman ones, which I had to purchase and Kerry had to buy a pair of the biggest sunglasses I had ever seen!
The work is absolutely knackering us out physically at the moment and the only time we get off is a half day each Friday. We received our first pay cheque today for a measely $655 which we have paid into the bank and from tomorrow we're looking to pick at least 8 bins between us each day. Highlights so far has been getting to drive a tractor around the orchards everyday and also the fact that we are both getting pretty toned and fit, both of us have lost a little bit of weight. Alex and Celine are doing really well and are picking at least 8 boxes everyday but are talking about looking elsewhere for hourly paid work so if they go it will be hard for me and Kerry to want to stay. We'll at least work until the end of next week but we may leave then and look for some bar work as fruit picking is like slave labour!
Anyway enough talk about picking pears, we are celebrating Celine's birthday today as she has turned 29 so we are going to have Fajitas to celebrate and a few drinks! Then first thing tomorrow it's back to the picking......ohhhh!!!
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