After the woodcock have passed through or settled down to nesting and rearing the next generation of these wonderful little birds for the dogs and I to seek in the fall my passion turns to grafting. Mostly apples with an occasional pear it is a pastime that I greatly enjoy. You'll find no Honeycrisp, Fuji or Gala apples growing in my orchards, these standard varieties that can found in any grocery store or farm market. I prefer to grow heirloom apples, apples that your great grandfather might have grown on the old family farm. With names like Smokehouse, Mammoth Black Twig, July Sweet, Myers Royal Limbertwig and Arkansas Black these old varieties have endured for a hundred years or more often only a few trees surviving at a time but always grafted by a few concerned grafters who did not want to see these old varieties die out. I count myself as one of these "concerned" grafters who try to encourage customers to my small nursery to plant a few of these heirloom varieties for themselves, their children, and even their grandchildren to enjoy.
