We have been girdled!

-a S.A.D., almost defeated, sigh-

This winter.  Oy!  This winter!  Not only have I endured polar vortex after polar vortex; but now, adding insult to injury, just as I was getting excited by the receding snow in the yarden... BAM!  

Our fruit trees have been girdled!  Whether it is fatal or not remains to be seen, but the prospects do not look good.

O Destroyer* of cambium!  Away with you and your "friends and relations!"

Ode to the probably-dead apricot trees

Fading memories of an edible gift from God

The hand-picked, sun-kissed apricot from Yalta of the Crimea

Firm and sweet yet slightly juicy and tart!  O, watering mouth!
 'Twas what brought the two of you to me.

-This is a work in progress.  It is too painful a subject to dwell on for more than a stanza at a time.-

*In fact, Valient Rob "displaced" the main offender a few weeks ago, but the damage had long been done.