Mourning the loss of a beautiful tree.
One morning last week, I was out changing the irrigation zones in the almond orchard, and three of my boys showed up, Briden (7) and Caleb (5) on their bikes, and William (3) on foot. They love to race to see who can turn the most valves on/off for me, but the big boys let William turn them on for me this time. I had already finished most of it for the day, but its a big deal for a little guy to be able to “help daddy out” in the the orchard.
I ran back to the house and grabbed the camera, hoping to capture one of these moments. I’m afraid the innocence of the these years with my young children helping me in the orchard will pass far too quickly. While I was videoing William, we came across a beautiful Non-Pareil almond tree that had been blown over. We did have a bit of a north wind a couple days before, but I really didn’t think it had been that strong. The trunk must have been weakened by a disease or something, because it was a large, strong looking tree, loaded with almonds that would otherwise be ready for harvest in about two months. Loosing such a big tree that is still producing so well is so sad for me. I see diseased trees die, which is unfortunate, but to loose an otherwise healthy tree is especially hard for me. Oh well, this is just part of farming. You take the good with the bad.
