THE CHERRY ORCHARD

A GHOST SHIP SAILS THE FOG BOUND LAKE

APPLE HILL ORCHARD CHERRY TREES IN FULL BLOOM

Sunday, 9:00 AM.  42 degrees F at the ferry dock,  41 on the back porch.  Wind NE, calm with light gusts.  The sky is overcast and foggy and it Is raining lightly.  The humidity is 96%, the barometer 29.81" and still falling, predicting continuing rain today, overcast skies tomorrow and rain again on Tuesday, with temperatures warming into the mid-fifties by the end of the week.
    Sweet cherry trees are selections of the European wild sweet cherry, Prunus avium, in the Rose Family;  sour cherries of the European Prunus cerasus. There are a number of edible wild native cherries but the fruits are small, generally tart,  and not usually grown commercially.  They do make excellent jams and jellies.

   The trunks and large branches of cherry trees are often whitewashed to protect the thin bark from damage in the late winter, when the sun's  strengthening rays reflect upward off the snow. 

    Cherry trees can grow quite large if not controlled by pruning, or  if not grown on dwarfing root stocks. They can be difficult to grow but the rewards are great, Bayfield sweet cherries selling last year for $4.00 per pound.

A cherry orchard by the house
("Sadok vyshnevyi kolo khaty")

A cherry orchard by the house.
Above the cherries beetles hum.
The plowmen plow the fertile ground
And girls sing songs as they pass by.
It’s evening—mother calls them home.

A family sups by the house.
A star shines in the evening chill.
A daughter serves the evening meal.
Time to give lessons—mother tries,
But can’t. She blames the nightingale.

It’s getting dark, and by the house,
A mother lays her young to sleep;
Beside them she too fell asleep.
All now went still, and just the girls
And nightingale their vigil keep.


Taras Shevchenko
"Sadok vyshnevyi kolo khaty"
("Садок вишневий коло хати")
1847, Sankt-Peterburg (Санкт-Петербург)

Translated by Boris Dralyuk and Roman Koropeckyj