Marc loading the chipper and showering the base of a young apple tree with chips

*Malus hupehensis* Chinese Tea Crab is not used for tea.

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Major chipping on the farm today: four of us (or sometimes three) chipped some gigantic piles of fruit tree prunings as well as small trees from the edges of the orchards. It is a fast-paced event thanks to a very large and extremely loud chipper we borrow once a year from friends.

More of the cultivars are breaking dormancy now, and many are at 1/2” green. (Amazingly some are still dormant.) Today’s photo is Malus hupehensis, the Chinese Tea Crab, which is now in bloom. It's a very nice light pink. Niedzwetzkyana is about to burst into bloom. The Tree Swallows are back and have retaken up residency up at Finley Lane, our orchard up the road. They swoop and dart and flash through the sky like orcas of the air. I love them.