Fall

I realize I am doing this later, but I am sitting here with time and thinking about it. Fall is truly truly glorious here. The mixture of the conifers all green with the orange/yellow/fading green leaves with some flashes of red is a riotous orgy of color. It goes up the mountain behind the house, and lasts no longer than a very few weeks. I remember the sea of yellow on the ground beneath a bare maple; mmmmmm! It was a time for me to plant some apple trees and berry bushes. I planted 3 spartan apple trees, 3 Jonagolds, 3 fujis, 1 pear, and 9 blueberry bushes. I am going to move the strawberries over to the pasture as well. I can imagine that deer and other things are going to fight me for those apples, I will have to figure that out. In the midst of many other problems at that time, I remember planting trees as a very bold statement; I am of the belief that somehow I will stay in the place. It will be a miracle, but when these trees bear their fruit I will see it; I will eat of it.

I also planted some daffodils and tulips around the ancient apple trees. I had mixed feelings about this; I love these kinds of flowers like I love Hershey's chocolate. It is not the best chocolate, it is kind of artificial, you certainly can't live on it, but it sure is good really, isn't it?

In the midst of this, I discovered that the pasture down by the 'pond', the soil is great for digging, it has almost no rocks. The dirt up closer to the house in the same pasture has so many rocks that you might as well start a gravel pit; it takes FOREVER to dig the smallest trench. The problem is, clearly if there is an excess of water it will pool down by the pond near the good soil. I will have to see how my trees do, because it may have been a mistake but I planted them down there. Now it is has snowed and snowed and snowed and then warmed up and monsoon season hit, I fear that whole area is going to be a lake. I am told that this weather is extremely unusual, so I couldn't really have foreseen what was going to happen even if I were and old-timer. Now I know what is possible.