Sometimes the way a child looks at the world is exactly what you need. One of my big wants when I dreamed about moving onto property was an orchard. However, this first year we spent most of our efforts and budget on getting the animals set up and fencing done, therefore the orchard was put on hold for the season. The other day when I walked outside I noticed we had a ton of berries on a few plants around the property. I assumed they were not edible, but I Google lensed them anyway. To my surprise they were chokecherries. Turns out we have probably twenty chokecherry trees around the property. Right next to the original plant, we have a different tree that this spring I was told was a wild plum tree, but it turns out it’s a crabapple. I brought my daughter out to show her and she had the best reaction, “Mom, you have an orchard!” I could have cried at her words. Her sweet simple reaction reminded me to look around and be grateful for all I have. Yes, I want a large orchard someday, but how lucky are we to find these blessings already here and thriving?
We have already picked a five-gallon bucket of berries and I am working on preserving them in a few different ways as we speak. Chokecherries are described as having an astringent taste and not really for fresh eating, so I have cooked some down and made a syrup which I can turn into jelly or use as a base for anything that needs a good fruit juice. I have added syrup to hot tea and it’s delicious. I plan on making jelly in the future and I have a whole freeze dryer loaded up with the berries and a few bags in ziplocs in the freezer. 
There will definitely be an orchard planted in the future, but for now I am thankful for my daughters perspective and my “mini orchard”.
Wattles and Combs Farm 