I’ve forgotten all week to post about the most surreal conversation of my time in the Interior. My mother worked for a cherry picking plant in August, and just as we arrived, the work had slowed down because of bad weather.

Mom: It was so rainy yesterday, they couldn’t get the helicopters up.

Me: Helicopters? They pick cherries with helicopters?

Mom: No, they use them to blow the water off.

Me: Um… what?

Mom: They tilt the blades sideways, and all the water blows off the cherries.

So, there you have it. You may have thought that rising fuel costs were reflected in food prices because of the effects on fertilizer and transportation. But no, it’s because the big-ass blow dryers are now more expensive to operate.