More time in the orchard

We transplanted this gooseberry from the back corner of the fruit yard to the orchard. It was neglected back there and getting choked by weeds. The owners before us planted it. I knew nothing about gooseberries until I identified it one day. Today I harvested five or six tasty berries from it. They taste kind of like a kiwi fruit in berry form. The colors are so rich. The shrub has grass growing up into it, probably brought it from its earlier location. I don’t know if I’ll take the trouble to weed it or let it go. I’m suspicious about this gooseberry plant because, along with currants, it’s banned in Maine due to being a carrier of white pine blister rust. Maybe that’s what’s happening to its leaves. I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it though.

I was able to take a better photo of the orb weaver today due to cloud cover. I just love her web. The spider is visible in the photo at the right, but she’s camouflaged. I was trying to imagine how she makes that web – leaping from leaf to stalk to leaf, round and around? So mysterious.