Jade, the pleasure was mine as well. It was an action packed day! And once you’ve belonged to the organization (as I suggested, your time will come) for any length of time it’s difficult to complete your duties when constantly, if literally bumping into so many friends. But everyone had their mission, and it appeared to me - they accomplished them with gusto!

…it was nearly painful being inside that dark cool hall, though packed with like-mined fruit-folks, witnessing from afar what was described to me as the nicest day of the year… Ouch… I grafted non-stop from 9:30 (for some of ours who’d not have a chance to stand in line) till 4:30, the last stop for most attendees. We had Six Grafter’s during the thick of it – what a Team! …though it seemed every time I glanced up the line was consistently long – it was moving. A ‘suggestion’ I talked over with one of my ‘clients’ was our investing in a DMV like tag & number system. That would allow those waiting for grafts to roam the pavilion checking out the fascinating displays while waiting their turn... We might include a simple PA system to announce the next 'couple numbers' …and whoever showed up first would receive our services..?

…also, we could have sure used some extra light at the grafting tables… It was like working in a cave … I’d suggested we set up Outside! Perhaps spoiled from our Milwaukie middle school location, with a bank of wall-high windows behind us (perfect!), to a dark hall lit by 8 foot florescent tubes spaced 20 feet apart... I’d actually brought a magnifying glass (in addition to my reading glasses) but found myself ‘looking up’ into the dark. Laughing, I proclaimed I’d just “feel my way through this one.” …Or, set up the grafting table at that windowed entrance… I did manage to get my table jacked up to a level at which I could stand -- gives me more ‘elbow room;’ a folded chair perched across a garbage can worked great as a make-shift stool. Everything worked, though I aim for perfection ~

And thank you, Joanie -- for the use of your large grafting rubbers. They were on the edge of …being too old, so we put them to use, saving ‘mine’ for events to come.

Hey, a treat for me was the appearance of some ‘outside the society’ friends. He’d called me the day before, wanting to know where he could find some “Standard full-sized apple trees?” -- He'd been calling everywhere! With a day of phone-tag and some online research, I noticed ‘we’ had Antonovka (I still can’t pronounce that..) “full-sized seedling apple rootstock” at last years event and suggested he come up from McMinnville (Or) to the show. He did, and arrived at my grafting table with a handful of apples he’d never heard of… Near the end of the show, and holding the only “Antonovka” rootstock I’d seen all day, I guided him to my favorites; as he’d wanted ‘solid long-time keepers.’ Their orchard is magnificent(!) and they (mom came too) want to eventually ‘match’ the majestic full-sized trees on their 50+ acres. Though the ‘foot high trees’ they left with were not all that impressive ... I got to match the scion size with their rootstocks and come up with what I felt were ‘perfect’ connections. Very satisfying!

But there were some typical …messes. There’s little I enjoy more than helping someone propagate an old tree that’s on its way out, in one case, attempting to disperse ‘baby trees’ to her now grown children from their family farm. What arrived, several times (sometimes the joke is to send them to me) were small piles of twisted twigs going back to 3 year old wood and virtually no ‘new growth’ for grafting. They’ve saved the wood, one having ‘matched’ the old wood to the width they’d read we needed, and most are willing to let us ‘go for it’ anyway. It’s a challenge… sifting through a bag of knurly lichen-covered wood with more fruit spurs and buds than obvious growth buds, but I ‘went for it’ – multiple times. Grafting three-year old wood to healthy rootstocks actually looked good, when I could get a ‘straight enough’ run with semi-viable buds… but it’s an iffy process. Also, I’d sure like to get some feedback from anyone having experienced this with me, or any of us. We talk amongst ourselves… but never really know the results – unless ‘you’ tell us how they/we did!

Some multi-grafted plum trees arrived as scheduled, and may be discussed on another ‘thread.’ The two trees, with a somewhat daunting process of ‘my client’ hauling them in (likely six feet tall) to have a couple varieties replaced with his preference. Problem was, the scions he found were so tiny they didn’t come close to ‘fitting’ the branches removed. I made the same grafts on both: one whip & tongue and one cleft. A fellow grafter next to me had repeated what I’d muttered while pulling out my magnifying glass to look the cleft graft over – “Micro-surgery.”

Where’s the pencil diameter plum scion wood folks? We didn’t even have any Satsuma! I don’t think he even knows what he got or at least hadn’t tried it. …guess I’m partially to blame, mine’s on the burn pile… I’ve had anthracnose and aerial crown gall for so long I will not bring apple scions to the exchange (once nicknamed the home virus exchange..) so I’ve gotten lax about bringing other wood. Spank me! I apparently need to start cutting, saving and hauling in my wood, too. …and with all I do – I will. Next year – in the middle of winter – I’ll cut and bundle anything that’s not connected to apple … and when a future client wants some decent sized Satsuma, Shiro, Methely, Nichols, Ozark Premiere or Burbank Red Ace – they’ll have it! …Including several persimmons, some fig cuttings and hardy kiwi (hold me to it folks).

I was also happy to help a woman who’d had a graft done last year that didn’t ‘take.’ She’d potted up the tree and brought it back for another, no charge! …It wasn’t one of mine, as I unwrapped the ‘masking tape’ ...but everything looked aligned, it just didn’t grow… But as it's now twice the girth, I made a cleft graft. She was pleased, seeing she’d just received “two for the price of one!” It was an Italian prune, a ‘stone fruit,’ with less chances of success dormant grafting, but I’ll bet one the two will connect, this time. It actually had four balanced but ‘little limbs’ sprouting from the rootstock, just below the graft. I was ‘tempted’ to splice on three tiny Asian plums - along with the Italian… but didn’t – four for the price of one!

I was sent (“Go see Viron”) a nice young woman just having inherited her family’s farm near Astoria (Or). …and yes, her description of giant neglected trees mirrored memories of ‘my own’ …25 years ago… Reluctant to interrupt me, I did my best to graft, not lose a finger and give worthwhile ‘old orchard advice’ at the same time. Basically, my suggestion was to collect and have the apples ID’d this fall at our All About Fruit Show (as I pointed to Shaun *apple master* grafting in front of me). If they’re easily ID’d, as in, “That’s a Winter Banana apple,” decide if you want a massive tree of them (I didn’t). If there’s anything unique, unknown or adored they can be propagated and replanted to more manageable trees… Or, the long dangerous and daunting task of slowly bringing down massive overgrown trees to a manageable size could begin; I’ve done that, too… My parting advice was to “Be careful.” (a very nice young woman guys… with a farm, in need of an apple expert… Jade " title="Wink" /> )

…had a guy show up wanting to graft ‘walnuts to walnuts.’ Said he had all the wood we’d need … on his trees. …I suspect I’ll receive a call, hope the project makes more sense on the phone… I told him walnuts were tricky, he responded, “I know, that’s why I’m here!” They bleed, and though I remember my Great Uncle describing the process …I’ve only grafted a few, never having learned the results. If anyone’s interested in taking on this guys project (he’s expecting to pay), here’s your chance, or at least next year around this time, with stored dormant scions…

Enough? What a blast -- everyone so appreciative of our efforts and enthusiastic about the process. Many folks becoming ‘new members’ on the day and fired up to attend our multitude of events. One asked, “Does the Home Orchard Society do more than these (meaning our recent ‘All About Fruit Show’ and the ‘Exchange’) two events..?” “Yes,” I replied, “We give grafting classes, budding classes, an annual tour and picnic, pruning displays at our arboretum... lots of stuff!” It was also exciting to arrive at the Washington County Fairplex to see their highway reader-board flashing our event! I’d say it was as packed as ever, for me, that’s going back to a membership starting in 86… At the tailgate party, before the rendezvous at McMenamin’s Roadhouse, many long-time members were astonished at the turnout. …the tailgater and dinner… another benefit of membership (if volunteer effort)! What a fantastic group of positive people -- definitely thee reason I made the trek – if a lot closer to home this year. Thanks All!