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Monday, March 25, 2013
Almost Apple Blossom Time
By Meg Corey, from Sheila Connolly's Orchard Mysteries
I never
thought I'd find myself saying that winter is too short, but if you run an
apple orchard, like I do, it's the quietest time of the year. Not that there's nothing happening—there's
plenty of clean-up, and you have to prune while the trees are dormant (and
pruning is necessary if you want to encourage lots of apples to grow). Plus there's sitting down with all the
inventory and sales numbers, to see if you actually made money on the last
harvest. There's doing general
maintenance on the farm machines, like our elderly tractor, to keep them going
for at least one more year because I can't afford to replace them just
yet. There's ordering things like
picking baskets and crates, because some of the old ones fall apart each year
no matter how careful you are. There's looking at the employment records for
our pickers from the past year and figuring out if we need them all back, or
even if we have to add a few. Too many
pickers and I waste money; too few and it's a scramble to get the apples
harvested and to their buyers on time.
It's a real juggling act.
Last year
was the first year I'd completed a harvest, and my orchard manager Bree had to hold
my hand through the whole process. Just
when I thought we'd figured things out, we ended up planting another three
acres of baby trees, on land that I'm renting from my more-than-just-a-neighbor
Seth Chapin. Not in the original plan!
But there was this nursery that was going out of business, and they gave us a
really good deal that we couldn't pass up.
Which meant that Bree and I spent a chunk of time digging holes and
planting baby trees. They won't even
produce apples for a while, but it's an investment in the future of my orchard.
When I
first arrived in Granford—was it really only a year ago?—I wouldn't have said
there was any future at all. I was going
to sell the house and leave as fast as I could.
That plan didn't quite work out, but I'm glad things changed, because
now I have a home, work that's hard but rewarding, friends, and Seth. Now, if I can just avoid tornadoes, hailstorms
and a plague of locusts, this may be a very good year.
Here's a quick peek at the cover for the next Orchard Mystery, Golden Malicious (October 2013). We're still not 100% sure this is the final version, but close!
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Love the title...and the bunny on the cover,
ReplyDeleteCannot wait for this book!!! Loved the first one!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the title and cover, This is a fantastic series! Can't wait for this one to be released!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat title, beautiful scene--and I feel like I need to scramble to the fire station to hop on the truck and go fight that fire!
ReplyDeleteLike the cover, waiting for it's release great series.Have read them all.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait. I have been wondering when the next book would be coming!
ReplyDeleteYour covers are always eye-catching and the titles nice and punny!
ReplyDeleteLove the cover.
ReplyDeleteIts one of my favorite series! Pre ordered and looking forward to Meg's next adventure.
ReplyDeleteLovely cover, and I look forward to reading this series. Thanks for the very interesting guestpost.
ReplyDelete