by 
Joyce ordered three new trees from her favorite tree people, two plums and an apple. They arrived Thursday, I think, and we planted them Saturday morning. Joyce orders what she wants and it’s up to my to find a place to plant them. I had several red maples Arbor Day sent free with some other trees I’d ordered and I had been toying with the idea of planting them northwest of 2005 but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I don’t know much about red maples but I’m skeptical of any tree they give away. So instead we planted the apple west of 2005, sort of between the golden raintree and the big pine. It should offer a nice display out Kari’s back porch window when it blooms in the spring eight or 10 years from now.The two plums we planted south of the shop. Joyce and I are learning to plant trees where they are easy to water. The apple will be easy because Kari will water it and the two plums are within easy range of the faucet on the south side of the shop. They are also planted where the corral used to be so the soil ought to be especially fertile there. A couple of years ago I put in another raised bed on the south side of the shop and last year I had nice crop of flowers in it but this year I’m going to plant the flowers, annuals mostly, in the pond area to take advantage of the water and provide for the bees. Not that the bees couldn’t find the flowers down at the shop, but this way they’ll be closer. I’m going to use the frame in the garden so I removed it and planted one of the plums where it had been. The other one went east of it with another raised bed in between. These trees are bare root but they aren’t seedlings and we’ve had pretty good luck planting them. The red maples, well I planted the one I was sure was still alive about 4 o’clock to the pond in the enclosure. It had survived maybe three winters in a bucket and I felt it deserved a chance. The other two I uprooted and discarded.
Jill and the girls arrived Friday afternoon to spend spring break with us and Hans and Elisabeth arrived Friday evening so we’ve got lots of company on SA. The weather Saturday wasn’t bad if you don’t mind a little wind but I think it turns cold tonight. It looks like we might have some pleasant weather next week, though. It would be nice for everyone if the weather permitted outdoor activity.