Winter light, planning.

I live this time in reflection. Misty dampish, 40’s air. Reading, writing, consumed with defining purpose. Plant Gil, plant! – I recall my good friend saying repeatedly. I deliberate within design parameters. I deliberate for the rare 5 days needed to shovel a hole without the earth suction planting my tool instead. 100 new apple varieties to map, and plant. Planning the orchard with test fruit is deliberate/designed for> alphabetical, numerical, ripening period, disease prone, tree size, use (cider, fresh, pie), rootstock type…hmmm. It is particularly daunting. I like having to deliberate. Answers keep surfacing. Reflecting on orchard design. If there was only a dozen varieties, no problem. The orchard with 4000 varieties (e.g. Botner) is understandably challenged. In that case I’d be alphabetical… only if planted all at once! because adding more trees later presents a new problem? How? assigned numbers; lettered rows; leaving gaps for the final collection? hmm. Still in pause-mode.