Joy, a Long Time Coming

This tree is definitely in the list of "stupid things that I love so much." 

One of my fantasies for as long as I can remember as an adult has been to have whatever I could get close to an orchard in my back yard. So when I bought the house, and it came time for landscaping, I asked my landscaper to take out a pole that was randomly in the backyard (I don't understand the previous owners) and replace it with an apple tree.

And then I waited. And waited. 

Nothing happened that first fall, but I figured, OK, that's normal.

And then nothing happened the next spring.

I am not a patient person. 

So I Googled, and saw that apple trees won't blossom and set fruit for typically three to five years after being planted. 

Three. To. Five. Years.

An eternity for a not-very-patient person.

So I waited. And waited.

A few weeks back, I had a sense that something different was coming. I could tell that the tree was doing something, but wasn't sure if it was leafing, or if it was blossoming. It looked different than previous leafing years, but at this point, I'd accepted that the tree wasn't on my schedule. 

I was out doing some work in my yard, and my neighbor mentioned how nice everything looked when it was up and growing. I made a comment to her that the tree looked different, and she gave me the "Crazy Neighbor Lady Is Crazy" look, and said that no, she thought it was just leaves.

I felt vindicated when this happened a week or so after that conversation:

I was right! (There also may have been some creative exclaiming when I walked into my yard and saw this.) 

Almost three years to the dot, the tree finally felt comfortable and confident enough to bloom. I don't know if this is a harbinger of apples for this harvest season, but I love looking at it from my patio at night, and knowing that for once, my patience paid off.

Five short days later, the tree had burst into full bloom. 

It was worth the wait.