Henny Penny Farmette

Almond tree in bloom

Rising before the sun does ensures that I have quiet time to stroll around the fecund farmette. It’s my time to contemplate my writing  project before tackling the work  and also to feel gratitude for the life I have here in rural Concord, living close to nature.

As the sun breaks over the horizon, splaying out across orchard, I walk to each fruit tree and study the the way the sunlight illuminates the swollen buds that look like little jewels. Many have already burst open along the branches and some branches have even leafed out.

Along the back of our property, tree canopies of pink and white signal that the apricot, plum, apple, almond, and peaches already have broken dormancy. The hachiya persimmons and the Tilton apricots that we planted on the eastern side of the property, however, are still “sleeping.” We moved the Lady Banks climbing roses over there, too, to make way for more renovation work near the house.

A honeybee forages on Spanish lavender blooms

The French perfume and Spanish lavenders add a deep purple hue  to the ever-evolving palette of spring color. Noticing a honeybee on the lavender, I thank the Creator for its presence. I much prefer the bees doing the pollinating than having to do it by hand as a friend recently told me she had to do with her fruit trees in Santa Cruz County.

The rhubarb bloom has to be cut so the plant will grow more stalks

Seemingly overnight, the rhubarb sent upward a giant spike with what appears to be a bloom. This hasn’t happened before to these plants, so I’ll need to cut that bloom in order to focus the plant’s energy into forming the cherry-colored stalks. The leaves and bloom would not be edible–they’re poisonous. The stalks, however, are delicious in pies.

As the sun continues to climb, I head for the house and a pot of hot coffee. Time to go to work. I’ll take a break later and stroll around outdoors to discover what I might not have noticed on my earlier walk.