Dear Constant Reader,
You have probably hear me talk at length about our sour cherry tree. We planted it not long after moving into The Manor and over the years it grew from a tiny tree, producing maybe a pound of cherries, to a two-story beauty, giving us more cherries than we could pick.
 |
 |
For three or four weeks every June and July, everything would be cherries at The Manor. I would spend all my free time baking and preserving and trying new recipes. I know plenty of people who looked forward to being invited over for some cobbler or being gifted with a jar of jam. Betty would come over and steadily pick cherries until there was no more room in our fridge. The last harvest she gave a gallon or so to Deacon Giles who turned them into the most delicious cocktail cherries. Despite her diligent work, we usually were only able to pick a percentage of the fruit and eventually let the birds have the rest.
Last year the blossoms on the tree were not nearly as luxuriant, but I knew it had been a bad winter for stone fruit trees. We only got about a pound of fruit (as opposed to 35-40 lbs. most years) and when the leaves started dropping prematurely, I called an arborist. He suggested we wait until spring, just to see if it recovered after a proper winter.
I am sad to say, my friends, it did not recover.
I am grateful wasn’t home on the day it was cut down. I was prepared for it, having done my hysterical crying and mourning already when I realized there was no hope for the tree. But I didn’t need to see it come down. The crew saved the largest parts of the trunk for us, so Scratch can make something beautiful with the wood.
A week later the guys were back with a stump grinder and all that was left of our beloved tree was wood chips.
But all is not lost. When the arborist warned me that even if the tree recovered, it still might not have too much longer. So, last fall I bought a new Montmorency cherry tree and have been growing it in a tub in the back yard. I sprung for the most mature tree I could get, but it’s still only a wee baby.
Yesterday, it moved into its new home!
It already has a cherry! I know we have to be patient to get the kind of harvests we used to, but before long we will be blessed with a wealth of cherries.
These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 20 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
Leave a comment