orchard musings

work these past few days
has consisted of pruning
cleaning beneathe the trees
and hanging plastic cups in the trees
plastic cups upon which i apply some sticky goo
(a product called "tangle trap"
derived from petroleum)
which no doubt captures insects
(there is at least some toxicity
for there is warning that this stuff
should not get into the eyes
and may cause a rash if left on the skin)

i found myself questioning
the preferability of this method
of pest control
by a rough estimate i have spent
about $80 and about 40 hrs total
in the past two weeks
on the project of pest control alone

how does this compare with
the practice of spraying with
insecticide???

after the cups are in the trees
and ready to go
there's nothing else to be done

it was the practice when spraying
prevailed that 3 or 4 sprayings were necessary
throughout the growing season

in terms of manual labor
spraying is easier
but the spray is toxic
i recall feeling ill for a few days
after the sprayings

one has to place some value in manual labor
it is good to work and get tired

i bring no machines into the orchard
other than lawn mowers when necessary

from the insect point of view
the judgement must be nuanced with
the ackowledgement
that even though i wish to do things
in a nontoxic way
the insects do die
they don't get poisoned
but they find themselves caught
in a mess from which they cannot extract themselves
and their last struggle is toward death

i also have to realize that "good" insects
are sacrificed in the method
insects which cause no harm whatsoever
to the orchard

rachel carson described a method
whereby the determination is made
of the pest in question
the pest most likely to be causing damage
to the produce
gathering up these pests and submitting
as many as possible to x-rays
which "neutralizes" their reproductive power
then introduce these back into the population
this "trick" limits the population by rendering the
natural reproductive cycle somewhat impotent

it was a consensus that the insecticide used
to control pests that loved the apples
as much as anyone else
was drastic
after a spraying or two
there were hardly any insects around
the trees were not abuzz
the sound of the orchard was one
of eerie quiet and sterility
this was beneficial to the apples
but one has to wonder of the
hidden health effects of such measures

so i justify my method
and i rationalize
i realize i don't get all the bugs
i realize i get a very small percentage
of any of the bugs existing
in and around the orchard

there will be plenty of bugs
for the birds to eat
despite my efforts at control

it is my hope that
fewer "maggotflies" as i
have learned to call them
will take advatage of the
new blossoms and find their little
homes there
that's all i can expect

by observation i have learned that
the best apples grow highest on the trees
at the tops of the trees the wind
is a natural deterrent to insect habitation
and sunlight is maximum

so then i found myself thinking
maybe what i should do is
force the growth of the trees
naturally upward
and at harvest time
just use tall ladders

rather my approach to pruning has been
to prefer the branches which are somewhat
horizontal and thus make the need for ladders
a matter of occasion rather than necessity
most of my trees are accessible to picking
by standing on the ground

the best natural friends of the apple tree
are sunlight wind and space

rather than rest on the knowledge
i have thus far attained
my interest this year will be
to be more precise in knowing
what the actual insect or insects are
which find such happy homes
in the apples
and discern whether there might be
a way to focus my attentions
on them

i enter into the biosphere
maybe i cause as many problems
as the insects and the worms

a few weeks ago i was describing
my method to a visiting monk
and his response was
it's a matter of survival
take no prisoners
agriculture is somewhat ruthless
by it's very nature
there are enemies
and we have the power to destroy the enemies
and that is the means to an optimal harvest

by assuming the gentle approach
i may be fooling myself
i have only the comfort of knowing
that only insects will die
nothing else will die from the goo
i've noticed the birds
have no time or interest at all
in the plastic cups
and that at the end of harvest
i can be assured that no residual
chemical effect is left in the fruit

my challenge is to know more
to be open to refining the practice
i use now
or even learning of a more gentle
and viable method

my goal:
maximize harvest
minimize damage

what a delicate dance i must dance
the orchard keepers' ballet

resurrexit sicut dixit

the stone at the mouth of the tomb
has been rolled back
he has been seen
he has eaten fish
he has walked through walls

yet
there's nothing much to write about
my time away from the blog world
has left me even more indifferent
to this form of communication
there is some delight in it
delight that my parents' generation
did not know
but then i think
my father spent many hours
showing us kids that
sitting in a chair with a book
is justification unto itself
active participation distinguishes itself
from reflective and passive participation

the mind can absorb knowledge
if quiet is gained

one of the primary activities
to which i am given these days
is
the preparation of the abbey apple orchard
for the new season of growth
and it is there amid the symbolism of
the primordial disconnect from god
that my mind has pondered the matters
of life in the world

what do i know there?
i know the sky
the angle of my eyes to the sun
i know the flitting and dancing of birds
i know the desperate devastations
of animals
i see the hawk the falcon
the crow the geese the eagle
i hear various songs in the woods around
i see people walking by on the road
and cars directed to completely other purposes

a rabbit in an effort to survive the winter
has taken at least 5 trees
and chewed all the way around the trunks
destroying the cambium layer
and in effect these trees will die
they will make a paltry effort at life
put out a few leaves
maybe a decrepit apple or two
but they will die
so i know death in the orchard as well

i know my thoughts
thoughts of friends who have struggled
thoughts of my family
thoughts of musical possibility
thoughts of life in the church

all this amid what has become a rather
second nature activity of pruning
i seem to know exactly what is needed
for every tree
now after five years in the orchard
and am still seeking to optimize
the growing potential of each tree
in one sense this would entail just leaving them alone
nature has her own design
the growth of the tress is naturally marked by
a certain excess
a way of being which gaurantees continuity
more branches than the tree needs
more potential for more apples
which would without human interference
fall to the ground
and ideally be occasion for further
propagation

yet i enter into a relationship

the old practice in the orchard for containing
insects which love the apples
or should i say find in them a perfect
place to live and grow as insects
was to use chemical insecticides
a practice that i participated in
in my early days as the orchard keeper
it took one intense year of that to convince me
that that was not the way

having done some research into
organic approaches to raising fruit
i have settled upon a technique involving
placing plastic cups in the trees
which are painted thoroughly with
a non-toxic goo called "tangle trap"
which attracts and traps the little critters

i know by this practice that my intent is not to
wipe out the bugs
but to enter into a friendly natural competition
to minimize their effect by merely compromizing
their population
i think it was rachel carson ("silent spring") who first conceived
of the practice of introducing natural predators
(knowing her she was aware of ancient farming practices
which entailed a complicated observation of the natural world)
as a manner of addressing unwanted pests
i guess this means i am a natural predator
but i do not wish to eat the insects

yet another positive aspect of the nontoxic approach
is that birds have returned to the orchard
it used to be that it was a sterile place
with all the bugs pretty well dead
the birds had no reason to be there
this spring i found a dozen old nests
and i then could consider the birds
as compatriots in the cause of a good yield
for they eat many insects

i know the roots of the trees
for i clear out that area at the base
of the trunk
i know the branches
i know the potential of each tree
some will die
i know what i must do to limit
the natural and complicated drama
which characterizes the trees as vulnerable

in the orchard i come to know
that all matters good and evil
are under the auspices of
a grand intellect

it is my hope that come september
i will know the delectable experience
of my teeth sinking into a sweet-tart fruit
and know my efforts
proved useful
and know there the struggle
of good and evil life and death in the world
in my own heart