Fruition

It certainly has been a long time since I've posted in this blog, but I assure you, I'm still the same old Smug. If you're even still there to be assured of anything. Rest assured, I am still here. Or rather  here mostly if you have only read this blog and miss me awfully much.

The fact is that once I went back to school a couple years ago and forewent gardening for that year, I never really got back into the groove with seasonal planting. There were potatoes and kale one of those in-between years, but how many times can I post about potatoes and kale before your eyes roll back in your heads and you fall off your chairs from boredom? I did plant a few starts in the greenhouse (last year?) but one of the field rats that have been terrorizing the chicken coop came along and neatly nipped off the tops of all of them leaving just the stems. Ugly words and rocks were hurled in the general direction of their tunnels.

 This fluff puff has been doing what she can to help, but she doesn't have access to the coop or the greenhouse. I must say, though, that the house is pest-free. Except when she brings pests in to gloat. Like the bird that was quite alive when she brought it to me and dropped it, only to have it take off all over the living and laundry rooms, kitty in hot pursuit, leaping and chattering, me opening doors trying to encourage it to fly out. That'll get you going in the morning. There have been some field mice, shrews, and a baby bunny whose fates were not as rosy.

When she's not stalking critters, she likes to hide in the lemon balm. I discovered this when I was watering the herb bed one day, and she went flying out. I need to do some pruning, I see.

Turns out, though, that without the time-consuming chores of seasonal gardening, our perennials are thriving, particularly the fruity ones. 

 

 

 The old plum tree is positively loaded. I'm already pinning more recipes for all things plum.

The frost peach is likewise over-achieving again.

A couple of things I am just beside myself over are also happening.

The pear tree is pearing for the first time! It has bloomed in the past, but never set fruit. I didn't even know exactly what pears looked like on the tree. The leaves look funky but don't seem to be affecting the fruit.

And will you look at this? There may be grapes this year! Many years ago -- four or five is many, right? -- we planted three grape vines. Two of them didn't make it. I didn't think this one was going to, either, but then last year, it just sort of revived itself and made some good vines and big leaves. No grapes, though. Not so this year. It has baby grapes all over it.

Yesterday, I re-purposed a bean frame I built last year and some smaller pieces of old wire fencing to make a trellis for the grape vine. The rabbit that was napping under the vine wasn't impressed, but I'm pretty happy with my new/old grape arbor. I hope the baby grapes are, too.

 I did throw some kale seeds in the back box, for us and the chickens. I think kale is ridiculously expensive at the store, and since all I have to do is sprinkle in some seeds and water occasionally, there's no reason to pay so much for it.

Oh, shoot, I talked about kale again. I hope you didn't fall off your chairs!