I got to meet Bethany and Nick!
My big sister said her friend was moving to the area and we both told the friend that I’d love to meet her.
Today was the day.
I had no idea what to expect but still, I was kind of picturing someone about Marian’s age.
They looked younger than our kids, and came here for the same reason we did years ago: the tech jobs. They arrived with a gift of ripe lemons from the tree next to their ADU.
The four of us swapped stories for a bit, older Silicon Valley meeting new.
Looking out our window, Bethany was exclaiming over the trees and I offered a tour.
Yes please!
Blueberries, mandarin, pomegranate, sour cherry, apricot, orange, mango, sweet cherry, peach peach peach later-ripening lemon peach peach plum apple apple fig and tucked way over in the far corner over there, a pear.
Did you plant all these? they asked,
All but the lemon and that apple that died and the rootstock is starting to come back up. (For the second time. The Yellow Transparent is my zombie that refuses to stay dead.)
We had completely lucked out in getting a big (.2 acre) yard with a southwestern exposure for all this; it was a for sale by owner, a bit of a fixer-upper and well under market. If only I could replicate that affordability-plus-yard for them!
There was clearly some serious desire to dig in the dirt, and they offered to come help in the garden any time.
I’m looking at my sweet cherry and thinking, biennial crop because I didn’t thin two years ago? Is that why there was so little fruit this year? How about you do a big burst again next spring? One needing some thinning, and then help harvesting? I want an excuse to see them again and to let them come have all they’d like.
Meantime, I sent them off with some pomegranates, and they were as delighted at that as I was at being surprised with their lemons.
I could see why Marian spoke so highly of them. I liked them from the moment we opened that door.