I have distinct memories of going as a child to one or another of the several orchards in the area and being taught how to identify the apples ripe for picking, and how to gently detach them from the trees. It strikes me now that the whole exercise was more than just a method of procuring the apples that would inevitably be baked into my mom’s delicious apple pie or apple crisp. The lessons learned on an apple picking expedition are applicable to a wide range of tasks, even, I like to think, book publishing. Continue reading →