To Bear or Not to Bear?

Is that the question? No. Shall the loquat tree be prey to the ax? Now that is the real question. Whether tis nobler to live and let live or take that paltry fruit producer down in one swift chop for the sake of space. I mean really, we don't have a couple acres to let lazy trees sponge off our precious resources. Everybody needs to do their job. Even Hamlet would agree.

So this is the first year since we moved into this house (2006) that the loquat tree has bore fruit, and let's just say it hasn't been an impressive crop. From the color of the fruit, I figure that it must be a Golden Nugget, which is supposed to have great flavor. And so far, the few little buggers that have ripened taste great. Something like a cross between a lemon, apple, and firm plum - juicy and sweet with a strong kick of sour. If anyone out there knows anything about helping a loquat produce more proficiently, please, please, please pass along the information. The poor tree is shaking in its roots just thinking about its potential demise.



The neighbors have two gorgeous dwarf apple trees that lie right up against our fence line. Fortunately for us, they have absolutely no interest in these trees so we are forgoing building a fence between our yards to give us access to those apples. Don't worry, we're not STEALING them; we did ask permission first.



As a side note, there seems to be some confusion about the first batch of chickens that we got. Miss Lorraine and Pearl are still alive and well. In fact, Lorraine is learning to sleep on her roosting bar and her wattles are developing nicely. She's really turning into a lovely young lady. Pearl is sprouting up faster than a pole bean and is almost as big as Lorraine. Her leg feathers, which were scant when we brought her home, are finally starting to come in. And... um... yeah, that means we have 6 chickens. Stay tuned for the arrival of the goats in two weeks!