
This post is really earnest — the kind of earnest that might be embarrassing for everyone. Like when people read bad poetry aloud.
I sometimes think that everyone who reads the blog has come up and said something nice to me at the markets. That's the only way to square the readership figures with the number of people who have taken the time to seek me out and say something kind.
Those comments really made my day. Sometimes my week.
One Sunday it happened in front of two guys I was working with, who knew nothing about the blog until that moment. They got a huge kick out of watching me squirm in embarrassment at being outed and complimented at the same time. In that instance and perhaps in others, in the midst of my squirming, I'm afraid I may not have been able to get across how great it was to hear those things. So thank you. It was really great.
The same goes for the emails, which — let's be honest — have not been so numerous that I couldn't respond to them all personally to say thank you. But, just the same, thanks again. It's really great when people take the time to write a note.
If you linked to the blog or facebooked it? Hugely encouraging. Thank you.
If you commented? Really satisfying. Thanks.
Some of you chose to suffer in silence and that's fine too. That's probably what I'd do. Thanks for reading.
Now I have a few nice things of my own to say.
Thank you, Stephanie. Thank you, Stu. And thank you, Nick. All of my friends have been encouraging beyond measure but you three have had to listen to me talk about the blog far more than any three people on earth, and far more than you deserved. If someone tried to talk to me about his blog, I would be tempted to stab him with a pencil. Thank you for not stabbing me with a pencil.
There is one more person to thank, even if I don't know quite what to say.
Pete, you've been really great about letting me do the blog, trusting me to write about my job, about the farm and about you — all of it without checking up on me. Thank you. This is Fruit Slinger. I guess you're allowed to read it now. I hope I did OK by you. I hope you laughed. I hope you liked it.
All right. So here's the thing: I have kicked around the idea of doing another blog. But it's hard to imagine loving another blog like I love this one. Any blog I started now would be a rebound blog; I'm afraid it wouldn't mean as much to me and I'd just end up kicking it to the curb.
I'm not ruling out doing something like this again — maybe another season of Fruit Slinger , maybe something else — but I just can't say right now. If you keep the blog in your feed or join the facebook group, you'll know what happens if it happens.
You know, I wrote most of this entry months ago, when the days were long and peaches were just off the trees. I figured that would give me time to come up with the perfect way to put the blog to bed.
But now I realize that there may be nothing better than simply saying that this is the end.
And it is.
At least for now.










