First fruits

It's hard to believe that the orchard has only been in place for a year. It's coming on well and this year we're getting a few fruit forming on the trees.


Apricots:

Clapp's pears:

Meteor cherries:

Apples (these are Spartans, I think):


Stanley plums (which look exactly the same as the greengages right now):


The gooseberries are looking good, too:


In one corner of the orchard Mike is working on a bigger outside run for the chicks. The longer term plan is to allow the chickens to range freely in the orchard for at least some of the time. I hope they'll keep the bugs down. I need to train them to go back into the run when I want them to though, before I will feel comfortable about doing that.