On their way

Hello everyone,

Here in Alabama it's a gorgeous day, with bright blue skies, occasional warm breezes, and lots of birds singing. Over on the other side of the country, Karon and John boarded their first plane in Seattle this morning. Chicago is their first stop, followed by Frankfurt, Germany, then Almaty, Kazakstan.

So, if you haven't already done so, it's time to pull out that family atlas, or look on the internet, or the maps at the library, so you can follow their journey. For those who don't know, Almaty, their first stop in Kazakhstan, is right on the right-hand side near China.

After a bit of time to rest there, they will then head across the country in the other direction, back towards the border between Europe and Asia, to a town called Uralsk.

Little known fact of the day: did you know that apples cannot be grown from seed? Well, more specifically, say you are eating a Granny Smith apple, and decide you'd like to plant the seeds to get a Granny Smith apple tree. Unfortunately, there's no telling what sort of apple you'd get from that seed.

What you need first is good root stock. Then, once the first branch appears, you cut it off. Next you need a Granny Smith apple tree branch. You graft this on to the tree, and before too long, you'll get your Granny Smith apples.

This I learned in a late-night conversation with Karon last night. We were talking about her friend Larry's orchard, and how his root stock had come from Kazakhstan, a place with wild apple forests. (If you haven't yet read the post entitled "Why Kazakhstan?" I encourage you to do so. It's a great story.)

For now, enjoy your apples, and here's to a safe and wonderful journey for Karon and John.

With love from Karon's big sister Sharron