Life At Canaan Orchard

Dave in his element at Canaan Orchard/Photo by John Grap

Last weekend was the final weekend for U-Pick apples at Canaan Orchard.

It's a four-acre plot of land with 20 different varieties of apples, along with a few plum, nectarine and pear trees.

Canaan is surrounded on three sides by cornfields. Located on a 100-year-old homestead.

It's the orchard my brother Dave manages. 

And he's really, really good at it.

Beginning in April, Dave begins pruning branches and sucker growth off the trees. It takes skill to know what to cut and what to leave on the tree. The pruning promotes not only new growth, but better fruit.

After the pruning is completed - which includes a bonfire or two of discarded branches - comes thinning of the apple sets.

This work is meticulous and necessary and results in larger apples. This is definitely a case where less is more.

Dave is one of the most patient, hard-working people I know, and the proof is in Canaan Orchard.

Dave reciting "The Brook"

But it isn't all work.

In early April, I was there watching Dave work, and at one point, he set on his shovel and began to recite "The Brook," by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It's one of the poems that our Dad had us memorize as kids, growing up in the summer. 

"The Brook" is made up of 13 stanzas. Dave re-memorized them all and did his orchard-view recitation on April 7th, to honor our Dad's birthday.

This year there was summer pruning added to the mix, happening about a month before harvest. More branches cut. Another bonfire. This time on a very hot August afternoon. So hot, that it was impossible to stand within twenty yards of the fire after it got started.

I learned, first-hand, about the power of fire.

Before we knew it, U-Pick season was about to start. 

Typically, that begins the Thursday after Labor Day weekend and continues through mid-October. It normally includes six weekends, where my brother Dominic and I share U-Pick duties with Dave. Dominic and I take turns helping to staff the "Info Booth," on weekends to welcome and help direct customers. 

I'd estimate that ninety-five percent of the customers we greet are folks who have been to Canaan before. It's a testament to Dave's good-natured personality that they keep coming back.

No matter how busy it gets, Dave always takes the time to chat, letting customers know which varieties of apples are ripe, and where to find them. He engages each of them. Asks how their families have been and is genuinely interested in how they've been since last apple season.

Because of Dave's kindness, many customers give him homemade relish, pies, honey, maple syrup and family recipies. Some folks have even bartered with Dave exchanging tortillas for apples.

In preparation for harvest time, Dave pulls out some totes (large bins), placing two of them on a special trailer which becomes the official Information Stand for Canaan. (This year, my sister Deborah came up with a handy listing of the twenty different varieties of apples at Canaan, along with their taste and use for each).

During this busy time, the Michigan weather can fluctuate. From relatively warm and sunny in early September into not-so-warm and overcast of mid-October. But no matter the weather, Dave is faithfully there. (This year Dominic picked up a couple of mitts and a baseball at a garage sale and took them to Cannan. Last Saturday, I was really happy that we had them to keep warm by playing catch, in-between greeting customers). 

After the U-Pick season closes, it's time to prepare Canaan Orchard for the winter months. This includes delivering a few last pecks of apples - including some to the Catholic sisters at a Congregation of St. Joseph convent nearby. (Sister Grace, the sister who places the apple orders is continually in motion, from morning until late evening. Mostly doing things for other people.)

Since retiring, I've been privileged to go to Canaan and hang out with Dave each season for seven years.

Each season goes by quicker than the last.

Each season provides moments where Dave freely shares his patience and love of the outdoors.

Each season provides times of conversation about faith, philosophy, and life as he goes about the work of nurturing the orchard and our friendship.

Each season provides opportunities to simply spend time soaking in the presence of one of the wisest most hard-working, gentle persons I know. 

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And now, here's two, final photos capturing the close-out of Canaan for this season!

The trees and ground are clean! Not an apple to be found. Although the last day I was with Dave at Canaan, he found a (red) Jonathon apple, while I found one last (yellow) delicious still hanging from the tree!