The Blooming Yard

While the UP and frigid Minnesota are just beginning to throw off their annual glaciers, the sunny Southern Michigan is busy bringing forth fruit of the bountiful Barnhart yard. Last week we planted the garden, which promises a bumper crop of cucumbers this season. Also promising is the new irrigation system installed in the corner, cleverly hidden by one of the bushes. We buried a water line out to the garden and installed both a tap and a permenant sprinkler. Now we don't have to worry about the hoses messing up the lawnmower blades. Furthermore, the tap has come in quite handy for watering the apple trees, nearby.

Speaking of which, the apples are also come forth in great vigor this spring. All three apple trees finally have apples this year. Although the original apple tree (from a mail-order catalogue) is still lagging behind the other two in quantity of fruit, it's still growing nicely and has a healthy shean to the leaves. We've been watering the trees almost every day with a hose, and I'm starting to suspect that water is the key to growing large apples. It's only the beginning of June and look how big the apples already are! At this rate, they're going to be a fantastic meal for the squirrels come August.