APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

We knew it was going to rain, but we decided to go to the farm anyway. We arrived late forenoon on Friday (April 22). We checked to be sure our internet was connected, and then set to work.

Mike sprayed ground sterilant on the lane and our drive – several hours of tiring work. It’s a never-ending job to keep the weeds down in the road.

I planted a banana peel at each lilac bush – six in all. You know, I’ve been trying to grow lilacs here for 15 years with only moderate success, meaning some of them are still alive. They say that the homesteaders grew lilacs because the deer don't eat them, but mine have suffered any number of setbacks because of the deer. Finally, with the installation of a simple fence, three of them in that garden are robust and showing great promise. (I count that fence among the best things my family has done for me.)

Some of the pictures here were taken last Sunday / Monday. A few days makes a lot of difference in the spring, but because of the rain, I was unable to take many this trip.

Friday afternoon, Mike helped me weed the raspberry patch. The plants aren’t making a great showing, but Ken has new shoots to share with me, so the bed must be prepared. I’ll bet the job wasn’t half finished when we got tired and quit. I hauled a yard cart full of weeds to the dump place, and then we took the dogs for a walk.

Happily, the apple trees in the lane, though charred by last summer’s fire, are making a comeback. And my favorite “pine apple” tree, though not yet leafing out, appears to have some life. We’ll see. I especially love those apples. They’re quite small, a beautiful red and green, and I see few worms in them. It’s a lot of work to peel them for a pie, but they make great sauce or juice for jelly.

 

The old pear tree is wearing her best white gown.

 

 

The pie cherry tree looks good.

 

The apple tree we planted last spring recovered from the heat stress suffered last summer and is leafing out. It remains to be seen if she bears fruit this year. If not, she needs a companion tree nearby.

 

The sweet cherry tree broken by the falling pine tree is also blooming. I'm disappointed that probably two-thirds of the tree was lost, but at least our efforts in planting it were not entirely in vain.

So, it commenced to rain Friday night about 10:00 and continued well into the next day. The good news is that rain water collects in the cistern. I’m not sure what the farmers think. Planting has not occurred yet, and low places in the field stay wet a long time.

Oh! And the horses. Yes, the horses are still here, doing what horses do. Another call was made to their owner.

Thanks for reading. KW