CHILDHOOD RECOLLECTIONS
There were three of them since the time I could remember: the small one in the cattle kraal, a big one in front of the old milk room, and the last one on the western corner of the open implement shed. They were nothing special to me, just some trees. My dad had planted lots of fruit trees all around the farmyard – fig, mulberry, peach, apricot and many more. He loved and cherished all those trees and got loads of satisfaction from their produce in a good season. It was in March that I did not like those three trees too much, for just like so many other children, I disliked chores. Every afternoon, we had to pick up the bounty of those trees. They had to be dried on a concrete slab and then packed in bags and stored in the farmhouse pantry.
I watched in amazement as visiting friends and relatives would sit for hours shelling and relishing the walnuts. I did not consider them valuable, as they were abundant and free.
