Spring solstice
Wednesday March 20th 2013, 11:04 pm
Filed under: Knit,My Garden,Wildlife

Got two and a half more pattern repeats knitted so far today on that baby blanket.

Meantime, now it’s the apples’ turn to leaf out.

I sampled every variety I could find 20 years ago and then planted what was then almost an unknown, a Fuji. The house had come with two apples and a cherry tree that were dying of old age, according to the arborist I had come out. Richard and his dad took them out and I planted the Fuji.

Only, somehow they never took out the stump of the old Gravenstein and the rootstock eventually grew back–and it was apparently a Golden Delicious! Who knew! Not completely sure, because in all these years we’ve never gotten a single ripe apple off either one. Which is one of the reasons we didn’t plant more fruit trees earlier. Critters.

I have my bright mylar ribbon at the ready for the first season ever. I’m learning. And Plantskydd is supposed to stink, but from the mentions I’ve read from other gardeners, it actually works. Cool! (Los Gatos Birdwatcher carries it. Who knew!)

I have never watched those trees so closely before. Three days ago they both looked dead to the world. Then two leaves, then a scattering all over, with the Fuji first and the ancient one a single day behind.

I have seen snails climbing down at daybreak after a night of munching on the blossoms. I’ve never put anything more than eggshells around the trunks because I’m a strong disbeliever in poisons; if only I’d known.  Sluggo is a brand of iron pellets that poisons only snails and fertilizes the trees, harmless, so I’ve got some out there now.

And it was spring solstice today, the day when I once had both hawks when the female was alive doing flybys again and again across my back yard–theirs, rather. So, thought I at the universe, where are you?

I guess Coopernicus answered that question pretty well.


4 Comments so far
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Apparently the old tree paid no attention to the arborist. Happy munching!

Comment by Don Meyer 03.21.13 @ 9:13 am

Ooh, green! So pretty!

To celebrate spring, we got 10″ of snow. Feel free to gloat…:)

Comment by RobinH 03.21.13 @ 9:56 am

What Robin said. It never made it out of the 30s yesterday, and the wind was brutal.

Comment by Channon 03.22.13 @ 7:52 am

Hi, Cooper! Do you like apples?

Comment by twinsetellen 03.22.13 @ 4:02 pm



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