Fruit for the Future

Reader Contribution by Bethann Weick
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The cabin’s not quite done…but the woodstove is in, the pipe’s through the roof, and no snow came in this last week.  We’re continuing to work on indoor insulation and trim as we eagerly anticipate emptying our over-packed shed and moving in with finality.  For this week, however, I’ll take a reprieve from cabin tales to focus on the rest of the homestead. 

While the cold and snow of winter are (hopefully) imminent, these dark evenings are great for planning the work of the coming spring and summer.  In particular, we’re thinking about the perennial stock to be planted once spring returns.  While annual vegetable plants are essential for a full and varied diet here at Coösauke, perennials are also important.  Rootstock planted in the present will yield remarkable benefits for decades and generations to come.  Perennials are a boon – the more mature the trees and shrubs, the more prolific they become yet the less work they require!  You can’t quite say that for annuals.

Fortuitously, as autumn descended, a Fedco tree catalog arrived in the mailbox.  This was the first cue.  Since then, Ryan and I have had more than a month to decide on which trees, shrubs, and plants we want to purchase, and in which nook on the property we wish to plant them.  Now, as the urgency for cabin construction is winding down, we can refocus ourselves on the thrill of planting for the future. 

So, as the afternoon wanes – the sun sets behind the hill about 3:15pm – Ryan and I slowly

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