Tea Parties, Tax Days April 15, 2010

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This duty-filled day began with more gardening. It keeps us grounded.

We decided to do onions in the first raised bed. I had four groups of them I'd purchased some time back, but things had never worked out to plant them. Now, on the verge of it being too late, we are giving it a shot.





Tilling it up. Oh, somewhere in here we had another workday with a friend who helped us put up the tomato cage. That's sturdy!





Planted and watered.





Dogwood season!





One Bradford Pear in!





Still haven't found this guy a home yet.





Asparagus beetles have invaded our patch.





They have 3 or 4 generations that hatch, come up on the spears, mate, lay eggs, die, and do it all over again. All this while you are trying to eat yummy spears.

Can you see the little black eggs on the sides of these spears?





Here's what the beetles do to the tops.





I picked all the spears for cleaning the eggs from and eating.





It's dandelion season!





Watering in the third Bradford Pear.





This is a Manchurian Apricot. It was a freebie from a lower quality nursery supply many years ago. It needs a pollinizer so I've never had any fruits from it. But I hope to get apricot trees this fall to add to the orchard.





We planted Swiss Chard at the end of the onion bed. I only went with six this year because last year we had PLENTY of Swiss chard.





It's the Bright Lights variety, so it will have beautiful stem color.





The praying mantis egg sacs have hatched.





Can you see the babies? They are about 3/8 of an inch long.





Those bare root blueberries in cardboard I picked up from Lowe's for 6 bucks are turning into a disappointment. They are about to be dug up and returned.





So we invested in an 11 dollar plant to see how it will do in the same area.





I got my taxes done and in the mail. Then we were on our way to the local Tea Party gathering.





Many friends, AKA terrorist/extremists, if you ask 'some' people.





Look at this vicious girl! I wonder if she feels uncomfortable by all us white extremists? LOL





And our young friend who opened us in ..... ready for this....?

PRAYER!!!!!!

IN PUBLIC!!!!!





All kidding aside, our friends also led us in songs of God and country.





In our conservative town of about 15,000 people, between 400 and 500 came to the rally. We had several speakers and, though people are angry about what is going on, there were no threats of violence or any of the ridiculous things that are bandied about in the media. Some reporters really need to take off whatever it is that is blinding them to reality.













I am at a loss sometimes as to what to pray for the country any more. The best I can do is say, "Your will be done."

We left with friends to spend the day together and have some fun.

Still working, still hoping, still praying, still loving, as madness ensues...

~Faith

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On Apricots

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Perusing the growing stack of gardening magazines on my desk, my eye was drawn to the Henry Field's (I know, I KNOW!) catalog which beckoned my imaginative taste buds with the words:

Sugar Pearls Apricot - the most heavenly tasting stone fruit you can eat!
Words don’t do justice to the rich, full-bodied, sweet, golden-honey flavor of Sugar Pearls. These amazing white-fleshed apricots are unlike any fruit we’ve ever tried before, and must be tasted to be believed! The good news is, Sugar Pearls blooms much later than all other apricot varieties—so even if you were too far North to grow apricots before—now’s your chance!
Plant two for increased yields.
Ripens late June to early July.
Zones 4-7.
ORDER EARLY—SOLD OUT QUICKLY LAST YEAR!"

A semi-dwarf is 36.00.
Ouch!

This is why I have yet to have any fruit trees, though in my mind I have planned and planted, over and over again, the most beautiful orchard you have ever seen. There is lush orchard grass growing beneath every fruit tree imaginable, and several of each variety, two of each of those, of course. It is fenced so I can let the cow or horse, or even the goat or sheep in occasionally, as the mowing needs to be done. There are children sitting, hidden and giggling in the branches of the mulberries and the cherries, there are bushels filled with apples and pears, bushels filled with peaches and nectarines, picnic tables here and there for picnicking with friends, tasting of the delectable.....

.... oops, sorry.

What I have is a little piece of property that is not the best for fruit trees, and a climate that likes to give surprise late hard frosts after balmy and warm spring days; a complete enemy arsenal of fungus, mildews, rots, cankers; a veritable smorgasbord of evil borers, tunnelers, girdlers, and chewers; the epic battle of our archl nemesis, the Japanese Beetles and his larger Kamikaze brother, the June Bug; and not a lot of money to buy trees or do battle to defend them.

Yet... there is that Sugar Pearl....

I did some research, thinking, "Maybe THIS is the ONE!" I found some interesting things.

One, that what I really want to grow is CandyCots, but they are so exclusive you can't buy them; plus, the buds would be killed off with our late frosts, like most all of the varieties tantalizingly waved in front of my eyes.

Two, that they are not an apricot. (Henry Fields, I know, I KNOW!) They are a nectarine.

Three, that they do actually seem to have a good reputation for handling late frosts.

Four, that they are still ridiculously expensive. Even with the 25 dollars off, to get two (always better, no matter what they say) would be 47 dollars plus tax, shipping, and handling. Gosh, that seems like a lot of money when my future here on my land is shaky at best.

If growing apricots interests you, here are a few articles I found.

This one is a good general overview of the cultivars, according to area of the countries. http://www.oakcreekorchard.com/id82.html

Here's the lucky guy with the ability to get in on the ground floor with CandyCots. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/dining/18apricot.html

If you want to see the H.F. ad or order yourself a Sugar Pearl, here ya' go. http://henryfields.com/product.asp?pn=71546&bhcd2=1262265685

The patent on the Sugar Pearl Apricto, which tells the the real story - it's a nectarine! http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/PP17442/description.html

Still waffling between the long a and the short a on these,

~Faith

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