A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) visiting the Old Orchard.
Today in the orchard
(Report by Skylar.) The morning was spent on the Orchard House at Finley Lane. We built an oddball railing for the loft. We left the branch stubs on the logs that make up the railing so that there are many hooks for holding hats, towels, keys, rubber bands, Christmas ornaments, the limbs of a pothos plant— the list may be endless. We also brought in a large White Pine slab that will become the kitchen countertop. Later in the day I cut and installed screens on the four windows that didn’t have them.
I also spent time walking around the BRC and Old Orchard checking out what has changed in the past week while I was gone. Many of the apples and plums are just about ripe. The Yellow Transparents are starting to drop at the lightest touch, and the Duchess apples are dropping with no touch at all. They say these apples are best eaten just before they are ripe and that when fully ripe the Yellow Transparents can be so soft that they are better cooked into sauce. Some apples are best eaten early so they still have their structural integrity, others when perfectly ripe so they have the best balance of sugars, and still others after months in the root cellar to allow their flavors to reach their peak. Really though, who is to say what’s “best.” A wise John Bunker once told me, “If it tastes good, it is good.” If you like apples that make your lips pucker and your gums dry, I recommend picking your apples early.
