Hearing the dogs stir shortly after sunrise this morning, I got up to let them out. Almost immediately Mocha started barking at the closer avocado tree (for the record, not the one I put fence around). Aha!
The first year we had avocados, there were 32 of them. So when a possum got one, it was a big deal. This year, both trees have been producing since March. At 6:45 AM, standing naked in the back yard watching a four-legged looter getting ready to steal an avocado, my best course of action quickly became clear: go back to bed.
Later we saw that the critter had indeed had a heart-healthy breakfast. Mocha wonders if it is still in the tree.
Meanwhile, a few feet away, our little orange tree whose first harvest (three oranges?) happened this year, looks primed to do considerably better next. Which would be wonderful. But I have to wonder if it will be as “dumb” as our lemon tree, and grow so much fruit that a branch breaks. Time will tell.
Doug? Is this really you? I’m writing from Omaha. You visited us one year and spoke to children at our Annual Book Exhibit. Do you remember? Nina
April 1996 – you were the organizer. Someone loaned us a pass to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo. That’s from my notes. I don’t remember much about Omaha other than it being flat and gray (!). A few years after that we sold rights to Scholastic Book Fairs/Clubs and stopped doing public appearances in 2000. Tempus fugit!