Just when you think you’re all caught up, the seasons change and its time to prune. This chore is especially important because the past residence of HHH has RENTED!!! Yes! Yes! Yes! Our dream on this MLK Day has come true and today, the new occupants take possession.
Just a week ago, knowing the five-hour, 17″ snow storm was on its way, we headed over to prune the peach, nectarine, and plum trees for the new year. In 2022, it seems a certain new lady in HHH’s life got in the way of his seasonal pruning. Although we talked about it many times, we never found the time to prune. This lead to broken limbs during a bumper crop of peaches. There was no escaping it this year. Pruning became a priority.
The first thing one must have when heading out to prune is the proper equipment. Long-handled loppers, a long hand saw, short clippers, gloves, a borrowed trailer, and two workers. Last Monday, two able-bodied worker-bees headed out to complete the job.
It’s less than exciting when pruning trees that will produce fruit for others during the next season. There’s something so wonderful about caring for trees that will produce the very fruit you’ll enjoy over the next year. Here at Winterpast, we’ll wait a bit to tackle our pear, apple, plum, and apricot trees.
In a matter of hours, we had a trailer full of branches, carefully moved from the back yard to the front. Remembering back to the summer beauty of HHH’s back yard, this task was bittersweet for the both of us. His life certainly changed over the seven years he lived there, going from a married man, to a care-giver, to a grieving widower, to a bachelor, a boyfriend, fiancé, and finally husband.
For me, this special place was where we got to know each other, fell in love, and planned the rest of our lives together. Our wedding cake was decorated right inside the beautiful kitchen, where HHH crafted so many beautiful meals just for us. As we worked, memories danced through my head.
It was there I first learned about the abundant crop that can be produced from a single potato plant in the fall of 2022. As I helped harvest his Yukon Gold and Purple potatoes, I was astonished at the yield. We used all of them that fall, amazed at the flavor.
The 2023 crop included Russets, Yukon Gold, and New Potatoes. The harvest was even more bountiful and delicious. We enjoyed many baked potatoes (more delicious than a potato should be) topped with fresh chives from our garden.
Fresh pasta sauce simmered from our tomato harvest. Tomato worm eradication took us both back to our childhoods when our grandparents hated them as much as us. My grandmother would hurl hers at the side of the huge red barn while saying some things I didn’t understand in German. Billy hurled his over the fence into the hot desert while saying some things in English that I did.
It was at HHH’s house that I would pick him up for church on Sunday mornings. There, we put up our first shared purchase of 2022, our Christmas tree. We decided we’d put it up at Winterpast for the 2023 holidays, not knowing we’d be married by then.
At HHH’s bachelor pad, we gazed at the stars while enjoying his hot tub. I learned a Traeger Grill is the only way to prepare meat. I ate my first meals of wild tuna and elk, discovering that not all fish tastes fishy.
During that year, I learned it’s exactly six miles between our two front doors. I also found it’s much nicer to park in a garage than on the street in the wintertime. Oliver and the Wookie created a raceway to zip around the house, zooming through the living room to the hallway, around the corner and back to the living room, even jumping over us and the couch as if in a steeplechase.
On Billy’s bed, we helped bring seven squirming little wooklets into the world at midnight on a cold January night almost one year ago.
Most importantly, it was there I fell head-over-heels in love with my Mysterious Marine. Over 12 months, he became pretty smitten with me, as well. Isn’t that how most really great love stories begin?
With the keys to HHH’s house in the hands of another family, our full attention will now turn to Winterpast. Let the nesting begin. Now that 2023 is a wrap, it’s time for the fun begin.
Whatever you do today, be kind to yourself and others. Think of some healthy habits you’d like to incorporate into your life and begin a new path. Life is short!!!! There’s no time to waste.
More tomorrow.