Slaying the Dragon

One very smart dragon

Last Tuesday it was St. Georges Day and of course it was also my day at the orchard too. We spent much of the morning cleaning up and preparing for Blossom Day. Knowing that Ezra-Mae just loves the dragon – a mostly friendly beast that lurks in the orchard – I decided to give it a hair cut so that children could see the steps more easily.  I had lots of help. I needed it as most of the shears were better at chewing the cud rather than cutting.  We all kept saying this job would be so much quicker with a strimmer nonetheless we still kept chopping. Suffice to say, the dragon looked very smart on the day – and despite the weather it was well used by young ones.

One of the regulars at the orchard died over the weekend. He was a lovely man and not much older than me. It was a shock to say the least. When something like this happens, we all stop to think of our own mortality. We got to thinking how we could keep his memory alive in the orchard. As you know, I have been making labels for the trees. These are wooden and about A5 size with pyrographic lettering. Those present began to think that they would like a tree named for them too. One day there might be trees named, Alan or George as well as being a Cox’s orange pippin.

Hope's tree- a brown turkey fig

Last year, after Hope died, I bought a brown turkey fig for the orchard in her memory. Over last summer it was touch and go whether the tree would pull through, so I brought it back to my little garden to take care of it. Then it over-wintered in the polytunnel. Recently I put it in the ground near the dragon and now it is beginning to flourish. It has a label that says it is a tree for Hope. Ezra-Mae knows it is her sister’s tree and that makes it all the more special.

My days slip by and I remain incredibly busy. The time wooshes past and I really don’t know where it goes. I have had a visit recently from Diane and Jeremy, and also from Lynne and Johnny. Both sets of friends have a connection to Singapore. Lynne liked my little village so much she came back twice on the same day… she left her phone at my house. As her and Johnny live over an hour away their return home must have taken 3 hours or more. I only realised the phone was still at my place when I sent a picture to her and heard a ping.

Lynne and Johnny at Cosgrove Lock

And so to the beginning of another week – the last of April – the heating in my house has kicked in and the garden remains well-watered. Even Blossom Day at the orchard on Saturday was muted by stormy skies and low temperatures. I am looking forward to the one day we might be able to call summer. It looks might it could be only one day this year.