Friday

Friday it is, and it comes right after Thursday, a most beautiful day. I would rather write about yesterday so here goes…The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and it was crystal clear from the mountains on the west to the Sierra’s on the east. Everywhere I looked I could see snow capped peaks. (And Mt. Lassen is spectacular right now.) The temperature at 8 in the morning was probably in the low 50’s and rising. I began the day by planting seeds in my portable greenhouse, hoping that they would be ready for transplanting when spring really arrives. I have to keep repeating to myself, “This is not spring…” But it’s difficult to fully understand that concept when you’re outside in the sunshine, the grass is green, the bees are buzzing and the orchards are beginning to bloom.

After loading my little greenhouse with potential, I tackled the pruning. I began with the apricots and cut them down to a manageable size. I also trimmed up my poor old Red Haven peach. It did such a splendid job of producing fruit last year that it lost two limbs in the process. Trimmed, it looks a sorry sight. But with a crop of leaves, it will improve and look less like a tree from the movie set of a graveyard. The plum and the nectarine were easy to trim, the pears a little more difficult. And the prune tree is a puzzle! Limbs going in every direction. I think I will save it for next week.

I quit pruning about 2, though I still had about 6 trees left to trim, including the puzzling prune. My arms were really tired from holding that long pole trimmer. For a break, I decided to pick up the oranges that were falling from the Navel orange tree and then to see how many on the tree were ripe. I picked a large basket full and then I tried picking some from the Valencia tree. Nope; not one was ripe. And that tree is simply covered with oranges! Of course I had to taste the oranges and I can tell you that the Valencia’s will be great. Right now they are a little tart…but much sweeter than they were a few weeks ago. Though not quite ripe, they could be eaten without making a face. And the Navel’s were perfect. I cut them into wedges and devoured them.

The pink grapefruit is not ready to pick; I tried. I understand it ripens sometime in late March. There are plenty of grapefruit on the tree and I’m looking forward to eating them for my breakfast…along with my oatmeal, of course.


Since I was on a pruning spree, it only made sense to cut my hair as well. There I was, clippers in hand, sitting outside on the patio at 5 in the afternoon. The temperature was in the mid 70’s and it was delightful just be outside!