The warm weather came to an abrupt end. Today was cool all day and windy. I sprayed the plums early in the morning. It was nice to be out in the orchards, though I could have used another layer. I sprayed the plums with Surround and Cueva. Surround combats (deters) the plum curculio and Cueva is a deterrent for Brown Rot. The plum bloom was really strong this spring, and we could have a really good crop. I spent the rest of the day in the BRC orchard, cleaning up pruning-brush, mowing, weeding and cutting out lots of dead blackberry canes. If all goes well, we’ll have blackberry jam in a few months.
One never knows!
In late May we get to celebrate a string of amazing birthdays. Two days ago was Malcolm X. Today is Thomas “Fats” Waller. My favorite Fats recording session is the one from June 8, 1936 which fittingly includes “Blackberry Jam.” The band was in it’s absolutely best form. One of Waller’s favorite expressions was, “One never knows, do one?”