It happened overnight. We weren't paying attention. Suddenly notice that up here in the north country, the apricot blossoms are out!
The tree is tucked behind a sheltering adobe wall. It's roots reach down into a deep place where we know there's water because it once flooded the entire driveway right up to the doorway! But the cruel month of April has the final say. Will the blossoms freeze once again? In the 8 or 10 years that we've had this tree, it blossoms magnificently each year and when the blossoms are at their peak, a deathly freeze descends -- and they are gone. Only once in all that time have we had an apricot harvest - and it was so abundant that I preserved 15 jars of jam! Feeling confident at the time that the tree finally took hold and this was the beginning of annual harvests, I gave most of the jam away. My neighbor advised, "keep them" and now I understand why. He's lived here his whole life, his mother was a master jam-maker and his family has utilized the land for more than a hundred years in the most organic way possible. "It's a challenge," he said. But hope springs eternal in spring. The meadowlark seem to think so. He calls out melodically all day long. And so far spring seems to be arriving earlier than usual, it's warmer for this time of year...so...maybe...
Meanwhile, skiers are still careening down mountains, although I hear that the snow is draggy and mushy in places and certain avalanche-prone areas are closed off as the base gets softer. I think there's only another week of skiing left before the Ski Valley closes down. It's an environmental impact thing, allowing the season to take hold without disturbances from brightly clad humans on sticks.
