The Orchard Project

 When we were looking for property a few years ago, one of the things on the list we looked for was something that included an orchard. We didn't want anything big - just something small. This place didn't have one, but there were a few fields down by the old homestead that was a perfect spot. It was kind of terraced and it looked like something had been planned there at some point.

DH bought a load of pipe last fall and cut it for an orchard fence and our son came over last week for a few days and they got it pounded it into the ground

We've visited with friends about fruit trees and learned of a nursery about 90 minutes away, tucked into the mountains, close to a little mining ghost town community called White Oaks and we made an appointment to visit there last Saturday

We were there for 6 1/2 hours. LOL. Jaimee, the owner was absolutely lovely and SO interesting. She and her scientist husband live on the property completely off-grid.

Off grid facilities

She bought the raw property 25 years ago and has built a thriving business. She has crawled all over these mountains searching out historic orchards and gathering stories, photos, and root stock and growing fruit trees with history.

These heirloom trees are proven and hardy and have thrived for a hundred years + in our challenging environment, often on abandoned homesteads, without care.

Jaimee also hosts a farmers market on Saturdays - March through November and I'm looking forward to visiting then.

DH and I spoke maybe 10 minutes of those 6 1/2 hours and at the end of the day we felt like we'd completed a graduate program. 

We were completely fascinated and overwhelmed and had a huge case of information overload by the time we climbed back into the truck. 

DH looked at me and said, "Don't talk. My ears are tired." 😂 My brain was tired. 

And Jaimee is doing all of this at 72 years of age! All while taking care of her husband who has stage 3 kidney disease at home. Here she is picking us wild celery that she grows

She has work study students on occasion, but she really does all of this on her own while growing a garden, doing all of her cooking on a wood stove, and trying to heal and take care of her husband. She also has horses and competed in endurance races and still competes in ranch sorting events.

We will go back and pick up some trees as soon as we get holes dug and fence up. Jaimee is also grafting us some trees that will be ready in September. 

We are planting 3 apple trèes, 2 peach, 2 plum, 1 apricot, 1 pear...and we may try some grapes. We'd like a few cherry trees, but she said the birds and bees usually get to all the fruit first and she's in the business of making sure folks can feed themselves. We may try anyway although they won't be heirloom trees. And when we go pick up our trees, we drive right by White Oaks Pottery...sounds like a must-stop to me. 

Jaimee lost all of her chickens so I'll take her eggs and this time I'm bringing a notebook so I don't have to file everything in my brain. I can't keep up with this special lady!