I worked in the orchards all day with a quick trip to John’s Ice Cream at mid-day. (It was joyfully crowded.) I was again cutting out major amounts of fire blight. I fear this will be an ongoing task for the rest of the summer as more strikes appear.

The Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) are now in bloom. The medicinal plant is naturalized throughout the orchards and the farm. We’ve also planted various cultivars over the years although, if you have the wild native seedlings, you’re probably all set. And if you have more flowers than you need, you can dip them in batter and make elder-flower pancakes - a great breakfast for a warm and sunny July 4th.

Speaking of which, while it can be challenging to remember the dates of some of our US national holidays, this is one I never forget. Maybe we should rename all the holidays as dates. I suppose that would present its own set of challenges since quite a few of them vary from year to year, depending on when Thursdays show up in November or the first Monday of September.

Anyway, July 4th is a special day in the orchard. Or maybe I should say, the root cellar. Today is the day we traditionally pull out the last of the Black Oxford apples (aka The July 4th apple) and put them to the test. Tonight Skylar and her friends made Black Oxford pizza. It was delicious. As expected, the apples fared well after eight months in storage. What a great apple.