Not the Strawberries!
January 7, 2010
In Cold Snap, Floridians Shiver, and Pray for the Strawberries
By DAMIEN CAVE
DOVER, Fla. — Icicles hang from the thermometer: 25 degrees, at dawn, and the strawberries that should be on cereal sit suspended beneath hard ice, shiny and clear as lacquer.
Michelle Williamson smiles. The ice, she says, did its job of keeping all but the ripest berries safe, and the worst has been averted. Again. For now.
Tuesday brought the fourth consecutive night of freezing temperatures and all-night watering to the nation’s winter strawberry capital, and with another cold front on its way, nearly everyone here expects the frenzy and fatigue to continue.
“You work as hard as you can for the best outcome you can,” said Ms. Williamson, 46, as a handful of workers sucked down coffee. “Then you pray.”
