Wallowing in Poverty But Surrounded by Wealth
I may be poor in cash money, but when it comes to creating a sustainable food supply on my property I am as rich as Bill Gates. Ever since I ousted the rooster, my four hens have been producing, on average, three eggs a day, and I am still eating the pecans that dropped last fall from the two trees in my front yard. This past weekend I added to my future kitchen stores when I loaded up on fruit trees at the annual tree sale put on by the good people at Tree Folks. I bought one Red Baron peach tree, which I knew from driving through the orchards just west of here, does well in this climate, and two pear trees, one an Ayres variety, the other an Orient. I thought that was enough until Katie Brown pointed out a nice-looking Meyer lemon tree, a variety I had been coveting for a while due to its cold hardiness, so I bought that one too.
The woman who sold me the lemon tree, Rasmey Raymond, shocked me when she told me I could send her a check for the tree later on. You just don’t see that kind of trust very often in today’s world. She and her husband knew just about everything there is to know about fruit trees and they were as nice as could be so I made a mental note to stop by their place in San Marcos (Rasmey’s Garden) the next time I’m down that way.
Having these new fruit trees along with the ones I recently put in the ground, a pomegranate and a loquat, makes me feel like I have put money in the bank for a future generation. One day this lot is going to be a little fruitful oasis in the midst of a large city, and that day really isn’t too far off. Rasmey told me that the lemon tree has already produced fruit, and I feel good about the loquat producing next summer. Perhaps the year after that I’ll get some peaches, and the year after that some pears, and at that point I might just be able to avoid going to the grocery store altogether.
Tags: Ayre pear, fruit trees, Meyer lemon, Orient pear, Red Baron peach