Week #48 – Christmas Cherries – YouanMi

Before we moved down to Albany, we would often travel to the Great Southern for our Christmas holidays.  The sweet cherries that were sold on the roadside became a part of that Christmas trip and somewhat of a tradition.  They were, after all, some of the best cherries to be found anywhere.  These plump and tasty morsels of goodness come from Youanmi Cherries in Mt. Barker.

When I took these images in a rest bay on the side of Albany Highway, the cherries were being sold by David.  I found him in the low bows of a tree, reading a book and trying to escape the 36 degree heat of the late summer afternoon.  David has been roadside selling cherries for many seasons now – ever since he was five years of age.  He would sit with his Grandmother who used to read him poetry, although, just for the record, David prefers the novel.

Ray and Cat are two Taiwanese travellers back for their second season of picking cherries at Youanmi.  They love it here, particularly as it contrasts so strongly with their own country, a high density place with little open space.  Ray says that the Australian people show them great respect and that he loves the Australian countryside, which is “pure and beautiful”, without too many man made things.  There’s nothing quite like a feast of fresh local cherries to remind you of the simple things in life.