Hanging in there!

  Rains kept me inside most of the day so there was not a lot of opportunities for photography.  Mark and I did manage to sneak out late this afternoon for a quick hike about the hillside. As we around the canebrake, I was behind the navel orange tree and could see a side of it that is blocked from view during my normal approach.  Wow!  The tree is literally loaded with fruit!  This is a strong, sturdy tree that is relatively young,  Its limbs were doing well at holding up the large soft-ball sized fruits unlike the poor satsuma trees.  

  Just yesterday, I pointed out to Mark that the limbs of the satsuma trees were about to break from the heavy load they held.  Hundreds of fruits dangled on the small limbs.  Looking closely, we saw that some satsumas were already touching the ground.  He and I decided to dismantle the wisteria arbor and build a temporary brace for the satsuma limbs.  This should suffice as an added support.  

  With today's heavy rains, the limbs of the satsuma would have surely broken causing us to lose hundreds of pounds of fruit.  After leaving the orange tree and its luscious looking (albeit still unripe) fruit, we inspected our handiwork under the satsuma trees.  Job well done!  Even though the limbs were saturated by the rains, the framework held. Hopefully, no storms will come and the fruit will all be allowed another month of growth.  It appears that this will be another good year for citrus fruit!