She inherited the orchard as a square of bare earth and built it inward, one ring at a time. First the perimeter, then the next ring, then the core. By the third season every square was planted. But fireblight swept in on the prevailing wind that autumn, and the easternmost column — the side that caught the gale first, with no trees to break it — was stripped to bare wood while the rest held. She grafted resistant stock that winter and had the column back by spring.