May 20, 2026
On May 7, we had a delivery of two more fruit trees. One was another Japanese persimmon and the other was a fig.
I really wasn’t up to planting them. Bruce said he’d plant them under my direction. I needed to do some more walking anyway.
On May 8, we planted the fig first. I found myself helping with the depth of the tree. Bruce suddenly realized this and had me stop. Just because I wanted the tree planted, didn’t mean I had to get so involved.
Once the fig was watered in, Bruce cut cardboard and placed it around the fig.
The two figs we planted last year had leaves and pine straw around them. We had piled this around the figs for insulation over the winter.
After removing the winter mulch, Bruce got a cartload of pine chips and placed the chips around the new fig and the two other figs.
The new persimmon tree had an impressive root system. I suggested Bruce could use the tractor to dig the hole. That went over like Christmas and New Year’s Eve, his eyes sparkling with delight.
Bruce got the persimmon tree to the right level, while I held it. I did not bend over or squat, so this planting was a lot easier for me.
Bruce used the front loader to push the dirt closer to the hole. While I held the tree, Bruce shoveled dirt into the hole.
To water the tree in, Bruce drove the tractor to the house, while I walked to the house. He used the hose to put some water in the front loader bucket. I walked back to the tree while Bruce drove back to the tree. Bruce used a 5-gallon bucket to dip water out. He carefully poured water next to the tree to water it in. The rest of the water in the front loader was dumped near the new persimmon.
I had brought cardboard out to put around the tree. Bruce asked if the cardboard and pine chips could wait. I told him it could wait.
He drove the tractor back to the garden, while I dragged myself to the house. Once again, I pushed it too much.
I took a nap after that.
I did go outside later to take a look at the garden. The sky had short wispy clouds, all in a row.
The spineless caper bush, has flower buds.
I went back and rested.
I had more of an appetite. Throughout the day, I had oatmeal with applesauce, chicken noodle soup, beef broth, and Jello. I had a banana for a snack.
I decided I had been really overdoing it and I needed to stop. All the overwork wasn’t going to help me get better and might delay my recovery.
Blackberry Homestead 