Orchard Babies Quiz Answers

How many did you answer correctly?

Here's my grading scale: everyone gets an "E" for Effort!



This is a baby pear. It should be fully grown around August 10th.

This fuzzy little guy is a peach, basking in the sun until it becomes ripe in late July/early August.








This baby will change color from green to purple when it is a ripe plum, again around the end of July or early August.






Last but not least are these Yellow Delicious apples. They'll be ready in mid to late September :)

So there you have it; four orchard babies just hangin' out until harvest :)

Why are the "due dates" kinda iffy? That's because each season our fruit is ready to harvest a bit earlier. Global warming? I don't know...but it has been interesting to witness the fruit coming to fruition earlier and earlier over the years, leading up to now when some trees are almost a month ahead of schedule.

Marcheta *just hangin' around until harvest, too 

Orchard Babies and a Pop Quiz

 

People usually know how an orchard looks in the Spring when it is in full, fragrant bloom.

And like-wise in Autumn, equally fragrant with fruit, ripe for the picking.

But what about the dash between  the Spring-Autumn connection?

Well, mostly the orchard looks green. It is full of leaves. It takes a closer inspection to find out what is going on.

Protected in the full leaves are the beginnings of apple crisps, plum kuchens, pear pies, and peach cobblers. Or, if you please, apple cobblers, pear kuchens, plum pies, and peach crisps. :)


Here's the quiz...can you guess the names of these babies?


Stay tuned for answers....

Marcheta *Fruit Mama

PS. What is your favorite fruit dessert?

If Barns Could Talk

This barn makes me smile every time that I see it, which is almost daily because it is near the reservoir where I love to take nature walks with my camera.   I love its Mona Lisa type of grin, which makes me wonder what memories it could share if it were able to talk. How many haying seasons has it housed in it's big loft. What kinds of animals found shelter in those orange walls. And..really, why was it painted orange in the first place?

My own memory about this barn is from a beautiful autumn day many years ago. The owners had a country shop in it, named, of course, The Orange Barn. My mother-in-law took me to a special event hosted by the business. It was the first time I had warmed apple cider, complete with a cinnamon stick for stirring. Such a lovely, simple drink to warm the hands and heart on a cool day. And spending the afternoon there was a nice way of getting to know Marge better.

As I drive around the countryside, I notice that many barns and outbuildings seem to have "faces" as this one does. I usually cannot photograph them because of traffic, or because I need to keep driving in order to get to my destination in time. But, because I think that faces in barns would be a nice collection, I am going to put more effort into recording them before they all disappear, only to be replaced by nondescript metal buildings.

Where do you find "faces"?  Do you record them with your camera? If not..what's holding you back?

Marcheta *about face!