Fruit Trees

Landscape trees are planted for their beauty, function as shade givers, and are planted to be there for generations.
Here in the land of commercial fruit trees, we look at trees from a different perspective. A walnut tree, for instance, will produce a cost-effective crop from somewhere between three and twenty years. Then it is pulled out, replaced by a new tree that will, again, produce in about three years. Same thing with all other crop trees. You might say, it's like growing beans, when the plant is spent, till it under.
About thirty years ago someone gave each of us in the family, for lack of inspiration, a fruit tree as a Christmas gift. For a while we had spring cherries. until two years ago we had walnuts to pick up every year.
All these years we ate Satsuma Plums. Dark gray on the outside, deep plum color on the inside. It produces a tremendous amount of fruit every year. Several hundred pounds, enough to keep us, our dogs, the neighbors happy.
This year some branches have snapped as the branches were too heavy with fruit to support them.
This tree has certainly outlived its expected productive life.

Oh, the cat has nothing to do with the story. It's just a cute picture of a big guy hanging out in a kids chair.