Irene, goodnight

Though it's a big storm coming, and though we live right next to a flood zone, I am not too worried about home and family safety.

Rather, my thought have dwelt on the fate of this year's unharvested apple crop, which lies right in the hurricane's path.

And, I am not alone.

Half way through this morning's story about Hurricane Irene in the Boston Globe come these concerns:

But some, like the state’s apple growers, are at Irene’s mercy, and the timing could not be more perilous: Trees are heavy with ripening McIntosh apples, a classic New England variety, not quite ready to be picked. A wallop from Irene could devastate this year’s harvest.

“We just pray and keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best,’’ said Julie Martin-Sullivan, a third-generation owner of Honey-Pot Hill Orchards in Stow.

One troublesome feature of this storm is that it is slow moving. So even if wind speed continues to drop, the trees will be subject to high winds and gusts for an extended period.

Indeed, nearly ripe varieties like McIntosh will be particularly ready to fall.

Alas.