Dream planning (2010) by Mary
Winter visits would now be consumed by preparation for my dream, which Larry was more than happy to dream, also. I wanted orchards! And all kinds of berries... and grapes... and rhubarb... and nut trees... and... and anything that would grow!
So, these weekends were interesting, but difficult at the same time. Our planning required brainwork rather than muscle, and since we were inexperienced in what we wished to do, there was also a certain amount of stress. Thankfully, Todd joined us.
The three of us sat at the kitchen table for hours with our copies of the dream-maker book - the Stark Brother's Nursery Catalogue.
We wanted one of everything! It was far more complicated than that, as we needed to choose tree varieties for disease resistance and pollination purposes. We chose and re-chose until we were exhausted, but finally satisfied with the results. Often, Larry would become overwhelmed, and decide that it didn't take three people in our decisions, and go off and do a house project.
The brainwork stress didn't stop there. Donning winter coats, we traipsed around our farm in search of the right location to fence in our 20' by 30' foot beds, the size we had found the deer wouldn't bother. It seemed there was always a hindrance to a 'good place,' and usually the problem was a huge tree shading the area. Also, we were taking a chance with our low land, but decided that if we planted enough varieties, and in different places, something was bound to happily grow and produce. Please?! We placed our order which would arrive at our city home the first part of April and need to be transported to the farm.
In the mean time, on subsequent trips to the farm, our 'blue truck' Honda Accord would be packed to the roof with fencing material as we installed five more beds. Larry & I were proud to again learn something new as we fenced in that first bed. Two city people could now say, "We know how to install fence!" I also learned that I wasn't fond of installing fence. The first one was down right intriguing, except for the noise made pounding in the poles. But, five?
 |  Above: Todd & Larry building fence. I wanted to do it, but I had to take the pictures. : ) Left: We saw these dwarf apple trees while on a trip through Wisconsin. Full size fruit and easy to pick. I want some exactly like those. |
