I gave my love a cherry

... that had no stone,
I gave my love a chicken, that had no bone
I gave my love a story, that had no end....

Did your mom ever sing that to you when you when you were a kid? A cherry that has no stone is a cherry blossom. That's what I gave my love for Valentine's Day - an orchard. And that's what he gave me.

It was a LONG process.

Two weeks ago we brought the trees home.

Then The Gentleman Rancher let us borrow a post hole digger attachment for the tractor so we could dig 23 holes. What a HUGE time saver. THANK YOU to the G.R.!!!!!

Then I needed to make gopher baskets (we have an incredible gopher problem here on Seven Cats Farm), so baskets made from chicken wire are put into the ground to keep the roots safe. Most were purchased, some were hand made. We gathered composted horse poop from the neighbors as well.

On February 13, 2011, friends and family gathered to plant an orchard:

Baskets are bent into proper shape

Holes dug out, baskets put in, trees in the holes and then we backfill the holes with soil and compost mix.

Here is a photo of me with My farmer, her husband and one year old son.

Then we make a moat and water in the trees.

After lunch, we put guards around the trunks so critters can't chew on the young trees and kill them. Also the moats are mulched with wood chips! This is my Auntie tenderly wrapping an apricot tree. I think it's my favorite photo of the bunch!

And now, deer fencing! Eight foot t-posts, pounded into the ground to support 7 1/2 feet high fencing. Can you see the little trees in there????? We have fig, apricot, peach, almond, apple, pear, quince, plumcot and nectaplum.

Six and a half hours later and we were all tired, but done. 23 trees and five boysenberries are planted. Thank you to EVERYONE that had a part in making this orchard happen. That includes you - Woman Who Speaks with her Hands!

I gave my love a cherry, that had no stone for Valentine's Day. Excited, exhausted. The beginning of a dream. Maybe next year we'll give each other chickens, so we can have eggs (otherwise known as a chicken without a bone).

Thanks to Mimi for photos of the day.