Pea Picking

The first peas are more pure, more perfect than any to follow. They were delicious in creamed peas and new potatoes last night.

Every first picking is special – the first strawberries, the first broccoli, and so on through the summer and fall. As the season rolls on, we tire of the special, which becomes mundane. The end of strawberry season is near. No one is enthusiastic about picking them, but we can hardly wait to pluck the first "black cap" raspberries, which will be ready soon.

The seasons arrive at different times, like characters in a Robert Altman movie. They both overlap and miss each other entirely. Some come again and others disappear for a year. Inevitably a crowd scene will come, when many things ripen at once and the harvest basket is a rainbow of color, texture, and shape.