The Drought is Over!

The Wife That is Venus-Bird Back 40

You heard right -- the drought is over! It's done! Finished! Kaput! Good riddance! Don't let the door hit you in the keester on the way out! Your company was never wanted to begin with! So, get a clue, MaGoo and SCRAM. And If I don't see you next year -- it won't be too soon!

As you might be able to tell, I don't like droughts. As a matter of fact, I kind of detest them.

Friends and frenemies -- I'm not talking about the kind of drought that means a lack of water. We're still in that. Big time. That hasn't ended. It's here. It's going to stick around for the next couple of months. While we can hope and pray for big bucket of rain from the sky next winter season -- that's still a long ways off. There are hot summer days still to come.

Apricots in May? Yes Please!

Nope -- the drought I'm referring too -- the drought that has now officially ended -- is the drought on fresh fruit production in the Bird Back 40. It's over. It's gone. It started with a smattering of strawberries from the Albion plants situated beneath the Backyard Orchard Culture (BOC) Apple Orchard, but that wasn't nearly enough to satisfy and satiate our fresh fruit desires. But this latest little treat comes as a big surprise. I wasn't expecting this tree-ripened fruit, this early in the fruit growing season.

The proof of our fresh fruit extravaganza is pictured above right in that dazzling photo of sheer beauty. That is the wife that is Venus -- and she is smiling for good reason. No -- she did not win the lottery. No -- the Pope did not grant special dispensation so she could file for divorce. She's smiling because her favorite tree-ripened fruit ripened a lot earlier than we ever expected.

Royal Rosa Apricot

That's the five-in-one Apricot Fruit Cocktail tree to the right of the vision that is Venus. A Dave Wilson Nursery multi-budded special, we stuck this tree in the ground during the 2013 bare root season. We allowed it to produce a little bit of fruit last year -- just a taste mind you. We're allowing it to produce a lot more this year.

Are all the apricots on that tree ripe for the picking? Of course not! That's the beauty behind a five-in-one Fruit Cocktail tree. The five different varieties all ripen at different times of the spring and summer. In fact -- not all of the varieties on that Fruit Cocktail tree are actually apricots. Nope! One branch contains the Aprium.

Royal Rosa Apricots with Tomcots in the Background

Exsqueeze me? A what? "Maw! He's using them strange words again!" What in the world is an Aprium? Is it an apricot? Is it a plum? The answer to both questions is, "yes." Mind blowing isn't it? According to our fine friends at DWN, "The Aprium is a is a complex interspecific hybrid, predominantly of apricot and plum. Additionally, the sugar content of interspecifics is much higher than in standard plums or apricots, yielding fruit of incomparable sweetness."

Ain't that just terrible news?

But, I digress, because the fruit from this tree that is bringing us the most joy at the moment happens to be the branch that holds the Royal Rosa Apricot. Although it's not supposed to fully ripen until the third week of May -- the third week of May came a tad bit early this year -- here in the first week. Not all of them are ripe, of course. Some might even make that third week date. But just enough are soft for the picking and at optimum sweetness.

Young Annie Lennox

Is the Royal Rosa Apricot good? Is the Pope Catholic? Do tomato plants grow in Sacramento? Did Annie Lennox dump The Tourists? OK -- so it's a little obscure music knowledge on Bill Bird's part. But, the point is the answer to all three questions is a definite "yes." The Royal Rosa, Katy, Blenheim, Tomcot and Flavor Delight Aprium have all found a deserved home in the Bird Back 40.

It's been far too long since Bill or Venus sampled fresh fruit from the Bird Back 40. The drought is over. The onset of fresh fruit season is as right as rain.

If only we could get a little more of it.

It's February 2 -- Where are Your Buds?

Eva's Pride Peach Tree In Bloom-Bird Back 40

My dearest friends and neighbors -- on this day -- the day of the WEED BOWL (aka "Stoner Bowl") -- I give you BUDS. Not just any buds mind you -- but real, actual, true BUDS. No -- this isn't some Bill Bird lunatic posting about Bud Light. Though that isn't a half bad idea, mind you. This is about BUDS.

But -- eh -- it may not be the type of buds that some people in the states of Washington and Colorado have become accustomed to purchasing lately.

Eva's Pride Peach in February Bloom

The buds I offer are a tad better in my fair opinion. Those buds -- pictured above -- are blooms from the Eva's Pride Peach tree -- part of a Dave Wilson Nursery Multi-budded classic. Why are these buds so special? What makes them so much better than the buds in Colorado or Washington?

They are unique in that they really shouldn't be here yet. It's a might too early for peach bud season in California -- and early for any other type of bud for that matter. But if there's one thing I've learned in my short experience of growing multiple fruit trees in the Bird Back 40, it's this: You can't tell a fruit tree what to do or when to bud. Because it's going to do it whether you like it or not.

Eva's Pride Peach-Courtesy Dave Wilson Nursery

I'd like to tell you that's Eva's Pride is an "early" peach. And that might be the truth. But, I've never tasted an Eva's Pride peach to be honest, and if these February buds actually result in true fruit formation, I'll probably be pulling most of them off. I prefer this tree focus on GROWTH this year rather than PRODUCTION. Why? Simple! Bill Bird is a GLUTTON for fresh, tree-ripened peaches. Bigger trees equal more peaches! That's just fine for a glutton like me.

The fine print tells me that Eva's Pride ripens a good three weeks before July Elberta, one of the finest tasting peaches on the planet. Since the July Elberta normally ripens toward the end of July and a bit into August, my thought is the Eva's Pride probably ripens in late June or early July. This is the normal ripening time for another variety that is growing in the Bird Back 40 -- and growing well mind you -- the June Pride.

Katy Apricot Early Bloom

This means -- one day -- Bill Bird and the wife that is Venus will celebrate a glut of peaches. Bring it on!

But as the wife that is Venus flitted about with the hummingbirds in the Bird Back 40 yesterday, she discovered that the Eva's Pride isn't the only fruit variety to be going through an early bloom stage. Nope, a close look at another Dave Wilson Multi-Studded (also known as "fruit cocktail) variety, revealed that the Katy Apricot is also unfurling blooms a tad early.

Again -- this is strange. Most fruit trees are in a deep slumber during this time of year, which is know as "bare root season." This is the best time to transplant fruit trees into your backyard, for a couple of reasons. First, area nurseries are STOCKED to the gills with every variety of fruit tree under the sun. Secondly, transplanting a fruit tree that is still technically celebrating a winter's nap is the best way to reduce or avoid transplant shock.

Bartlett Pear (Not in Bloom)

So -- to get blooms from one tree in February is rare indeed. Blooms from a second tree? This is somewhat worrisome. The calendar on the office wall tells me that winter ain't quite done yet. We haven't had nearly enough rain or snow yet to quench California's thirst -- nor are we out of frost danger just quite yet. A cold snap or heavy rain then could knock those blooms into next year. Know what that means? No peaches for you!

And that's a sad development to be sure.

So, this may be one reason why the wife that is Venus rose a tad early this morning to attend Catholic services. This is a special day for Catholics. For, on this day, they celebrate the feast of St. Blaise (pronounced: BLAZE).

Peach and apricot buds on a day when Catholics celebrate St. Blaise? On the day of the long awaited Weed Bowl? You can't make this stuff up, people.