Linda Hall: The thump, thump, thump in the night that I'm prepared to live with

Frost protection fans on orchards might keep you awake but that's a small price to pay for delicious fresh summer fruit. Photo / Paul Taylor

Opinion

OPINION: I didn't sleep much at all on Thursday night.

I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens on Friday night.

I knew it was going to happen because it was so cold. So cold in fact it had hailed during the day.

I knew the frost fans would be belting out their thump thump thump and I also knew the helicopters would be out and about.

There were precious crops to protect.

This morning social media was humming with people asking what the noise was during the night.

People commented on lack of sleep, the fact that the noise woke their children and so on and so forth.

I live across from, adjacent to, down the road from and behind orchards. There's a frost fan in the orchard in front of me. I look at it every day.

I also watch the seasons change in the orchard. From bare branches to heavily-laden apple trees.

I've seen how much work goes into preparing those trees to produce fresh delicious apples for our community. Sure, some of it gets exported but that's a good thing for Hawke's Bay.

Linda Hall. Photo / Warren Buckland

We are so lucky to live in a region that produces what I consider some of the best food in the world.

Unlike the average householder, who - if they are lucky - has a bountiful vegetable garden in the backyard and might lose a few plants during a late frost, orchards and vineyards stand to lose their livelihood and therefore the livelihood of their workforce.

Already they have had to deal with so much rain, so much hail, so many thunderstorms. It has been relentless.

If they didn't take every precaution available to them to protect that produce, every one of us would be paying the price at the supermarket or fruit and vege shop come summer.

With the cost of living already skyrocketing and growers struggling to get their crops planted, I applaud the lengths orchardists go to to ensure there will be fruit to pick next year.

On Thursday night there were helicopters as well as people on the ground in the orchard in front of us, as I imagine there was in other parts of Hawke's Bay too.

So while the noise might have kept us awake, at least we were warm and cosy in our homes.

Others weren't so lucky. For me, losing some sleep a few nights a year is a small price to pay for fresh food.

Keep up the good work, Hawke's Bay growers. Can't wait for some delicious summer fruit.