Peas in hail and snow

The weather has been tumultuous and all I can think about is bees.  I really need the little guys to come out and pollinate my trees.  A few days ago we woke up to a mixture of snow and hail.  This happened the day after I told my dad we were safely past freezing weather.  Oops. The weather this month has been crazy, as crazy as the winter was mild.

Peas with branch stakes

 The snow and hail melted quickly, although the temperature stayed in the 40s, maybe 50, for a few days.  On Saturday, though, sunshine reappeared and it was a great day to get some things done in the garden. One quick and easy task was to set up the stakes for the peas. As you can see, I used small tree branches I found around the yard. These have a few benefits: 1. A nice rustic look, and 2. They are free and don’t require any manufacturing. Cheap and green. 

The orchard in April

The weather was so nice that Derek was able to mow the orchard. The yard sure looks great when freshly trimmed.  Most of the fruit trees have either started flowering or leafing out at this point and the raspberries, right below the rock retaining wall, are growing like crazy.

Gravenstein apple blossoms

Gravenstein apple blossoms are particularly pretty. Now they just need bees.  As the weather warmed up, I did see some bee activity, but I hope to see more out and buzzing about today. The orchard mason bees still haven’t emerged.  I asked Steve the bee guy about this and he said the weather has just been too cold.  I hope they emerge soon because my trees are ready for pollination. Bzzz.

Sandy