Winter Peaches

Sunny and cold today-- the temperature danced between the 40Fs and 50Fs.


Every once and a while you just have to dust off and get outta yourself for a bit. The end-of-season depression had a hold over me the past weeks-- the farm itself looks pretty gloomy these days. I've had enough of it though-- moving onward. Last night while drinking with Gizzie I let slip what the boss had said-- that my friend is out for the season now. Maybe that wasn't the best idea, Gizzie was a bit on edge the rest of the night. Oh well.


I had one task today-- cut back the fields of grass surrounding each peach tree in the orchard. Headed straight up the hill this morning-- taking the trimmer, spool of cutting string and gas/oil mixture. Had the hilltop to myself, it was a perfect day to settle down and work.

Trimming around the trees is tricky business-- the trees are still young and delicate, so any accidental knick into the bark could kill the whole thing. I took it nice and slow, inching from tree to tree down the rows. This is just the first step in preparing the orchard for winter-- next comes a round of top soil to fill in the dips/hollows around the plants, then comes herbicide and finally we attach steel tree-skirts to protect the trunks. I said it the other day, but the whole idea of cutting back the long grass is to discourage mice and other vermin from burrowing in over winter (and killing the trees). Seems almost anything can kill a tree.

Peach problems. Not sure what to make of it, but I noticed a few orchard issues. 1-- Many of the trees (both young and old) had gelatin-like ooze collected around their base. I pointed it out to the boss this afternoon, he had no idea what it was and didn't seem to care. I got some research to do. 2-- Some animal or another has been burrowing under the root systems--I counted 15 trees with holes leading underneath 'em.

I trimmed through the orchard and the day. The foreman called me over at one point, we stacked up a few more lines of irrigation pipe and cut the final round of broccoli. Back to the peaches.

It was nice to have a day working alone, finally had a chance to think. Lots to sort over these days-- all matters of cities, apartments, farms and what comes next.


I finished the orchard ten minutes before closing. Met up with the boss and Newport down at the store-- we prepared one last batch of tomato sauce in the kitchen and called it a day.


Wild days ahead, wild days are here. Darlin is coming up to visit tomorrow and my brother is gonna spend the weekend with us. Work tomorrow looks like a wash-- the boss mentioned several more houses needing brush cleared. On with it then.

Take it easy.