The floral grandeur we see all around will give way to vast greenery as blossoms turn to buds and buds become Anjous, Bartletts and Comice — the ABC of pears, but hardly easy.

Part of the beauty of the blossom season, celebrated with this weekend’s Blossom Festival, is that the labors of our farmers become so evident in the orchards that surround the towns of Hood River County. The process never ends, and it started decades ago in this valley.

“The entire fruit is already present in the seed,” wrote second-century Roman churchman Tertullian. From the winter’s cover emerges spring’s foliage and then summer’s fruit, which we are poised to anticipate, even to admire in advance.

That might not be the kind of thing the orchardists think about this time of year when they are up at 3 a.m. keeping the frost off their budding fruit, but maybe they will.

Thanks, then, in advance, to the growers and their families, to their employees year-round and seasonal, and to the workers in the packing houses and other places that go into the growth of our local fruit, and to sending it out to local shops and to groceries and other buyers around the region, nation, and world.