Keeping Count

One of the themes of this blog, and indeed, of our project together, is keeping track of what we're producing. Sometimes it's very little at a time, but even the small things can pack a wallop. For instance, these "Purple Royalty" rasperries, from the first year planting out front, nearly exploded in my mouth. I must keep paying attention to them, and learning all I can about bramble fruits.


Less exciting, probably because it was from a broken off stem, was the first "Fall Gold" berry. Still, tasty.


One of my favorite poems, "After Apple Picking," by Robert Frost, says in part:

"For I have had too much
Of apple-picking: I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired."

I may never feel this way, without a "real" orchard, but I did another pass along the espaliered trees today and pulled extra fruit off. I did some research that seemed to suggest that thinning not only made bigger apples grow, it tended to even out the production, year to year, for the tree, so there's not a boom and bust cycle. That sounds healthier for both of us, but it still hurts, some, to see the results.


We agreed to keep count of something else -- visitors to the garden! I may skew the count with my hives, but since the seeds came for the Great Sunflower Project today, I dutifully followed through.


I put them right by the zinnias.


Cat asked me to put some in her garden, but I may have to assign her a bigger bed. I couldn't find any more room!