April 23rd, 2022

Weather/Nature

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest.”

Ernest Hemingway

We’re probably past any false spring now with some days this week even in the 80’s, yet we did have another frost Tuesday morning when it got to 31. I don’t think that’s cold enough to damage apple blossoms. According to historical averages, we now have less than a 10% chance of seeing 28 degrees again, and a 30% change of seeing 32 degrees. So with the dogwoods just past their peak, and warm weather starting to come around, we are just a couple weeks away from being fully out of winter’s reach.

Down On The Farm

The soil dried out just enough and we got the belt on the walk-behind tiller fixed, so it was time to cultivate between the rows of cabbage, kale and broccoli. The weeds are really starting to take off, but the plants are looking good.

Grafting fruit trees has interested me for a while, and spring is the time to do it, so we went for it. We purchased apple and pear rootstock (the bottom part of the tree) from a nursery in Washington, and then took scion wood (top part) from varieties in our garden, plus we bought a few new pear varieties online.

The rootstock determines the size of the tree, disease resistance, etc. and the scion determines the variety of fruit that you will produce. After a winter’s worth of watching YouTube videos I was ready to try it out.

A couple weeks ago we potted the bare root rootstock that came in the mail, and once those dormant rootstocks start to come to life, that’s when you want to get your scions out of the refrigerator where they’ve been kept dormant in ziploc bags. Then it is time to graft.

The graft union is sealed with parafilm so it doesn’t dry out, and if it works, the rootstock will send life up to the scion via the cambium layer just inside the bark – that’s what you’re trying to match up in the graft.

Potatoes!

We also got our seed potatoes in the ground this week. We planted 20# each of Yukon Gold, Kennebec and Red Pontiac. We should get at least a 6:1 yield, but we’ll see.

Best Thing We Ate

We were supposed to have Easter dinner with friends, but had been sick with a cold and decided to stay home and not share our germs. But beforehand, we traded ham for mashed potatoes and pie, and so we all got to eat a very nice Easter dinner.

From Family Worship

We talk regularly with the children about how they are adjusting to the move from Florida to Tennessee. It is no small thing to leave the place you’ve lived your whole life and completely start over, and if we as adults feel the weight of this, what are our children experiencing?

There are, of course, individual differences amongst the children about how they’ve felt, and how much homesickness they’ve experienced since moving, but they all attest to the same thing: God has been incredibly gracious to us since arriving. He has not left us lonely and isolated, only to pine for the people we miss in Florida, but from the start He has brought us swiftly into sweet new friendships and a kind and welcoming church. These have been immeasurable blessings to us during this time of change.

Do we continue to deeply miss our loved ones in Florida? Of course, how could we not? But we are overwhelmed with God’s bountiful care and provision since arriving. It has far exceeded my hope or expectation for what we would all experience.

Other Happenings

Erica and I went out for dinner last night, which we haven’t done since our anniversary in December. We went to an Irish pub in Gainesboro that was recommended to us, and it was a great time to get caught up and enjoy each other (and some amazing corned beef & cabbage).