Linda Schamberger says she was in the “right time, right place” to capture this double rainbow over a Zingler Farms apple orchard in Hilton, New York, in September. “It was amazing and only lasted for about five minutes.” (Courtesy Linda Schamberger)

Linda Schamberger says she was in the “right time, right place” to capture this double rainbow over a Zingler Farms apple orchard in Hilton, New York, in September. “It was amazing and only lasted for about five minutes.” (Courtesy Linda Schamberger)

We’re proud to be a big magazine. We want to stand out when we emerge from your mailbox every few weeks and take a prominent place on your desks and countertops and, for some of you, even nightstands.

But even our extra-large format isn’t big enough to fit the entirety of this beautiful rainbow on our cover. When photographer Linda Schamberger sent in this image last fall, we knew right away it would make a fantastic shot for the cover. But how could we make this wide shot fit?

“Have you ever thought to make it the entire front and back combined as one?” Linda asked by email. “Just a thought.”

Great idea! Except how would our advertising manager handle giving up one of our premier ad slots on the back cover? It was a short conversation.

Instead, Linda agreed that we could display half of the rainbow out front and then feature the full image on page 7 inside the magazine.

“I am a passionate photographer, always trying to chase nature at its best,” Linda said. “I am a full-time school teacher who brings her passion of photography work into the classroom to help my students get first-hand, real-life visuals as I teach.”

When she shared this image with her kindergarten students, Linda said it was “not surprising that our theme that week was apples and fruit trees,” but the classroom discussion also centered on weather and rainbows “and how important it is for those fruit trees to get Mother Nature’s drink of water.”

All of you growers know that lesson by heart.

With this issue’s theme being nutrient and water management, we thought this rainbow over an orchard would be especially fitting.

It’s also nice that it’s from New York, which just so happens to be the location of our centerpiece feature this issue, too. Associate Editor Ross Courtney brings you orchard tours and more from the Empire State as part of our coverage of the International Fruit Tree Association’s annual gathering.

This is actually our second image so far this year from New York. You’ll recall Nick Nesbitt’s shot following an ice storm in Kendall on the front of our February 15 issue.

We’re certainly getting around on our covers this year: New Zealand (twice!), thanks to our own photographer extraordinaire, TJ Mullinax, who traveled to the country during the IFTA tour last year and got an abundance of amazing shots; Washington (also twice), where we saw wintry images of a cherry trellis near Yakima and a vineyard near Pasco; and just a few weeks ago, as we anticipate springtime, a beautiful blooming blossom and bee in Georgia.

We have more beautiful scenes coming your way this year. We hope you enjoy seeing our covers as much as we like sharing them.

Want to see more or have the chance to submit some images? Look us up on Facebook and Instagram, where we announce chances to submit images. And feel free to share your own shots with our audience there. You can find more images from Linda on Facebook, too. Keep chasing those rainbows!•

—by Jared Johnson