The Orchard and the Seasons

East of the Mountains

Apple harvest links Ben's childhood, marriage, memories, and final return to the changing labor of the Columbia Basin.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Childhood Among Apples A Childhood Among Apples from "East of the Mountains". A Childhood Among Apples Work among trees Ben grows up pruning, picking, packing, and tending the family orchard.

A Childhood Among Apples from "East of the Mountains". A Childhood Among Apples Work among trees Ben grows up pruning, picking, packing, and tending the family orchard.

A Childhood Among Apples Work among trees Ben grows up pruning, picking, packing, and tending the family orchard. Fruit is not scenery but a yearly cycle of labor and livelihood. A sensory inheritance The smells of sage, blossom, and ripe fruit become attached to home. Ben learns to observe each stage of the harvest closely. A lasting measure As an old man, he continues to measure places and memories through apples. The orchard remains an emotional geography even after the family loses it.

The Migrant Harvest The Migrant Harvest from "East of the Mountains". The Migrant Harvest A moving workforce Seasonal pickers travel north through successive fruit crops, reaching the Givens orchard for apples.

The Migrant Harvest from "East of the Mountains". The Migrant Harvest A moving workforce Seasonal pickers travel north through successive fruit crops, reaching the Givens orchard for apples.

The Migrant Harvest A moving workforce Seasonal pickers travel north through successive fruit crops, reaching the Givens orchard for apples. Their work connects the family farm to a wider circuit of migration. Stories in the rows The workers tell Ben and Aidan stories of travel and hardship while picking. Their presence introduces Ben to lives shaped by mobility and precarious labor. A recurring pattern Decades later Ben again meets migrant workers following harvests. The old pattern remains, but the laborers' circumstances include new barriers and risks.

Rachel Arrives for Cherries Rachel Arrives for Cherries from "East of the Mountains". Rachel Arrives for Cherries A new picker Rachel Lake arrives from Maine to help with the cherry harvest before nursing school.

Rachel Arrives for Cherries from "East of the Mountains". Rachel Arrives for Cherries A new picker Rachel Lake arrives from Maine to help with the cherry harvest before nursing school.

Rachel Arrives for Cherries A new picker Rachel Lake arrives from Maine to help with the cherry harvest before nursing school. She is initially part of the labor force Ben sees moving among the trees. Attention and discovery Ben notices her work, her riding, and her independent manner. Conversation gradually turns their shared season into courtship. A harvest remembered The fruit season becomes the beginning of Ben and Rachel's marriage story. The orchard is both workplace and the setting of their first intimacy.

The Modern Harvest The Modern Harvest from "East of the Mountains". The Modern Harvest Orchards in production The bus passes apple pickers, full bins, tractors, and loaded trucks.

The Modern Harvest from "East of the Mountains". The Modern Harvest Orchards in production The bus passes apple pickers, full bins, tractors, and loaded trucks.

The Modern Harvest Orchards in production The bus passes apple pickers, full bins, tractors, and loaded trucks. Harvest remains a defining seasonal activity in the region. Old work remembered Ben recognizes the labor from his childhood but sees it in a changed agricultural economy. The sight returns him to the family orchards he no longer owns. A point of return The harvest leads him toward the place where he was raised. Present labor makes his personal memories visible on the landscape.

A Picker Becomes a Doctor A Picker Becomes a Doctor from "East of the Mountains". A Picker Becomes a Doctor An unexpected worker Ben arrives at Wolfhound Orchard posing as an apple picker and brings Emilio with him.

A Picker Becomes a Doctor from "East of the Mountains". A Picker Becomes a Doctor An unexpected worker Ben arrives at Wolfhound Orchard posing as an apple picker and brings Emilio with him.

A Picker Becomes a Doctor An unexpected worker Ben arrives at Wolfhound Orchard posing as an apple picker and brings Emilio with him. The job offers a cover and a way to reach the orchard. A different task Before dawn, Ben is summoned to help Doris give birth. His work shifts abruptly from harvest labor to medical care. The fruit country continues At first light, ripe apples remain on the trees while the newborn begins life. The orchard's productive season frames a personal renewal Ben did not expect.

Ben's early years at Givens Family Orchard

During Ben's adolescence

The summer before Ben's enlistment

During Ben's bus ride through the basin

At Wolfhound Orchard during the late harvest