>Saving the World, One Nasty Fruit at a Time

>

One of Punky’s favorite fall activities is collecting “nasty fruit.”

They are really inedible osage oranges that seem to be covering every lawn in town this season, thanks to a bumper crop brought on by last year’s drought. Our backyard is no exception, and Punky can collect nasty fruit to her heart’s content. In a stroke of genius, Hubs even brought out a plastic trashbag and a small trashcan so that Punky would have a place to put the nasty fruit she had collected- and we’d have an easy way to dispose of what truly is a nasty fruit afterward.

This morning after breakfast, she announced she was going outside to collect more nasty fruit. Resolutely, she found her coat and her crocs and prepared to head out into the chilly morning. Before she left, the babysitter arrived.

“Hi, Janie,” Punky said gruffly. I’ve got to go now to collect nasty fruit and save the world.”

“Okay,” Janie said. “Have fun!”

“It’s not fun,” Punky said, affronted. “It’s work.“

No one ever said saving the world was easy.

This post originally appeared on Parents.com.