Hi Friends!
This email will be solely and purely about gorgeous fragrant flowers, delicious fruits to come, and the adorable, cute animals of the farm. You might be aware of a Global Disaster going on. I am not an epidemiologist, and I have nothing original to add to that discussion. So, I am going to focus this email entirely on what I know best - fruits, flowers and animals - and hopefully cheer up your day.Gorgeous Ginormous Roses
When I planted 200 roses over the past 2-3 years, I don’t think I fully grasped what that was going to look like now, a few years later. Dang. This is what our field looks like, and I couldn't cut all these if I tried. Also, yes, it smells beyond amazing.
Delicious Fruits on the Way!
OMG people, the fruit set on our trees this year is insane. I am predicting massive amounts of plums and peaches in a month or two, it’s gonna be great. I will announce sales through this newsletter just as soon as we have ripe fruit available. I cannot wait personally. I look forward to stone fruit season all year long. Look at this baby peach, just look at it, so wee and fuzzy.
I have been spending a lot of time up in the orchard thinning peaches, and have just started on the pears and apples as well. Thinning is vitally important to produce large and healthy fruits. You gotta sacrifice the many for the few, you have to be cruel to be kind. I wrote a fairly detailed post about how and when and what to thin last year. If you are growing fruit trees at home, you might want to give it a read.
Cute Animals
Bijou our Great Pyrenees puppy gets bigger every day. I am not sure what she weighs now, more than a 50 lb bag of goat feed definitely. Raising a big and powerful dog is not always the easiest. The other day, I was so proud that she sat in front of the door so I could put her leash on, and then she sat outside the door so I could put my boots on, good girl! Then she saw a cat, she loves cats, and in her great enthusiasm, she lunged and broke her STEEL collar. Sigh. A few hours later, she knocked over a glass of water into my laptop which is now so very dead. I love her sooooo much, just look at that face.
The llamas got their annual haircut a few weeks ago, which had been more like two years in this case. I always forget they are 50% fur, and have hilariously skinny necks under all that crazy pelt. We shave them so they stay cooler in the summer - no one wears wool in the hot season, right?
That’s all for now. I look forward to seeing many of you over the summer for some socially distanced fruit and flowers. Stay safe, wash your hands, and thanks to everyone for supporting small local farming!