Week of May 16, 2021

The middle of May is an important time to initiate the year’s growing season at TAProots farm, as the weather quickly can turn from rainy and cold, including late frosts, to warm and sunny, making it the best time to till, sew, or transplant the next year’s crops. The other attraction is the bursting out of a variety of FLOWERING TREES AND BUSHES. As I arrived on May 11, the huge banks of forsythia next to the barn and at our lakefront had already bloomed, as had the pear and plum trees in the orchard. The pear and peach trees were just finishing up, but the apple trees were at their peak, as a whole row of white clouds of blossoms buzzing with vast numbers of bees. We had planted six flowering crab trees in the past years, with this year’s emergence of their pink, maroon, and red blossoms and foliage. The lilacs next to the barn are now nine feet tall and loaded with fragrant lavender and white blossoms. Finally, even in the woods covering the slope down to Keuka Lake, dogwoods with their Snow White blossoms stand out in the sea of newly green leaves. Even though the focus is on the field work, the beauty of the Upstate spring brings pure joy to having so many projects that require our attention outdoors.