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What happened to all the birds that used to inhabit the fruit orchards? Can it be true that spraying has killed so many of them and that a lot of places have fallen silent, no songs filling the air? Natural & Organic might be better for all of us. So it seems like a good idea to grow our foods more naturally. This is exactly what I try to do in my apple orchard: Avoid using so many chemicals. My trees are alive with the sound of music. I must be doing something right. By not striving for the picture-perfect shiny-skinned fruit demanded by the wholesale market, I can cut way down on spraying. Just a little bit of the safest treatment is my rule.

People react favorably to my low spray apples. Many take the scenic drive to the lovely town of High Falls, just a few miles from the Hudson River. They pick their own apples, they enjoy my orchard and beautiful surroundings, and they picnic and relax.

And they can hear the birds sing. Those noisy birds! Their chirping wakes us in the morning and usually continues throughout the day. Some even nest in apple trees. Look down to spot a friendly groundhog or woodchuck popping out from underground. Squirrels can often be seen scampering up and down. Bounding rabbits abound. Of course the deer come out when humans are not around. Also there have been reports of a unicorn, but the trolls are all gone.

Several years ago HONEYBEE populations began to decline do to natural problems. Experts stated that wild bees were nearly extinct. Domesticated bees were also becoming scarce. A pollination crisis was at hand - - - just in time for the Y2K computer "crisis".

But one May day we noticed more buzzing in the trees. As time went on the buzzing increased. Indeed and for real, the bees were back!

Orchards normally rent bees for pollination. Mr. Apples has always had plenty of wild bees, due to the natural environment of our orchard and woods: never a rented hive here. We can continue the tradition of sitting under a blossom- laden tree as we listen to the bees working above us.