Childhood Dreams and Oranges

Look at this little guy, glowing underneath the leaves like the sun peeking out from beneath the clouds. 

This is going to sound a bit lame, but the only time I've picked an orange was on one of the retro popular Facebook farm games, probably sometime in middle school. But in reality, I've actually always had a dream of picking on orange off a tree.

Ok, more specifically, I have always dreamed of having fruit trees to pick fruit from. When I was a little kid, we lived in a city called Havirov, and had big cherry trees there. I was always too short to climb up in them, and 5-year-old Claire couldn't quite keep up with her big brothers in reaching the highest branches. 

When we moved closer to the mountains, my request for our future yard was to plant fruit trees and bushes. Dad happily obliged, and we attempted apple trees, raspberry bushes, cherry trees, and even tried reviving the sad pear tree that was already near our driveway. Alas, the deer and birds always got to our trees before us, and we never quite had enough sunshine or who-knows-what to allow the trees to thrive. My dreams were dashed, so I had to be content with the stray Czech apple trees alongside roads in the fall. 

Today, that reality was changed here in Croatia! There is actually a thriving orange tree here that I got to pick from, since we happen to be here right during orange season.

There were only six oranges on the tree, but we have enjoyed every little bit. There are now only three left (or maybe 2?), but each one is like a glowing treasure to me. My childhood dreams came true for a week.