I became a homeowner in Arkansas for the first time in May of 2011. The house I purchased came with a big backyard, which I had fenced so my dogs would have a safe place to run around. It was a bare piece of property in the back apart from one tree at the very back of the property line (which I later learned was a plum tree!!)
When the fall rolled around in 2011, I decided I’d love to plant some fruit trees and berry bushes in the back. This was three-fold….
1) the trees would eventually provide some shade for my pups
2) we would have some yummy fruit
3) it would bring local wildlife to the yard
That year, I planted 2 apple trees, 2 peach trees, and 2 blueberry bushes. The trees were no bigger around than my thumb and not much taller than I stood. I spent many mornings and evenings in the quiet of my backyard watering and babying these trees and bushes. I took care of them, and I watched them grow.
Every spring, I would get so excited and happy when I’d see the first sign of my fruit trees flowering! For the first several years the fruit the trees would grow were too small, too immature. But, their 4th year, the year I took this photo, we got our first apple, our first peach, and our first little batch of blueberries! I stood in the backyard looking over my trees like I imagine a proud parent looks at their child when they’ve won an award for something they’ve worked so hard to accomplish. I was so proud of my trees.
The morning I took this photo it had rained the night before. When I got up and let the dogs out for the first time this day, everything in the backyard was wet and dripping water drops to the ground. I slipped on some shoes and grabbed my camera to take a little walk around the yard. I stopped at this apple tree because it was the first time I’d noticed that year just how much fruit was actually growing on the branches! I couldn’t believe it. There were apples everywhere I looked! The leaves were a beautiful dark, rich shade of green. It would be another several weeks before any of the apples would be ready to be picked and eaten, but I was so proud of my hard working trees!
A number of years later I got married and it was time to combine our households into one which meant it was time to put this first Arkansas home of mine on the market. I was literally so sad to leave my trees behind. I’m so thankful to have this photograph (and others I took while I lived there). It reminds me of the many backyard conversations I had with my trees as I watered them. It reminds me to continue to work hard to grow in to a better version of myself. It reminds me to share what I work hard to grow, to stand tall and firm when it’s windy or situations are difficult to withstand.
Nature is so cool.
I hope the new owners love those fruit trees like I did. I hope they bring them as much joy as they brought me.
Till next time…
-M-