Up early for more apple tree pruning
Well, there’s more pruning ahead for the next several days: the weather should be nice, and I’m somewhat looking forward to it. It causes a good kind of fatigue, and the knowledge that I’m slowly regaining strength, in advance of the planting/weeding/landscaping that needs to go on here. It’s strenuous, but less so than digging (we have very rocky soil, and it usually goes better if you alternate between a shovel and a pick axe). We’re also getting a lot of usable wood for the remaining sections of the cottage fence around the pond & flower gardens.
Most of that post work is seasoned apple tree limbs, and some cherry tree limbs, as well. The trees are all getting pretty old, and since we don’t use pesticides, we periodically struggle with some of the diseases that come through, especially in overly-moist years, like the last two have been.
The additional benefit of getting up into the trees is getting my mind off my impending math class at BU (I hate math), and the medieval condition of my stupid, expensive teeth.
We’re really hoping that all this pruning work restores the trees to bearing. With the disappearance of honey bees in our area, as well as the trees’ venerable ages, it’s difficult to know for sure what they’re up to, and whether pruning will help them at this point. Oh well, we can always use them as graft material for new trees, if this doesn’t work out.
Rainy Halloween
Well, it’s one of those weekends.
Had a substantial amount of work to bring home, and it’s rainy. Somehow, I’ll figure out a way to make bracelets to sell, knit some of the BSJ #2, and do some baking or cooking, as well as cranking out presentation swag.
C. & I have a trip planned to REI tomorrow: we didn’t have one in our area before, and it’s sort of the mecca of outdoors gear. Pricey, to be sure, but well worth a trip to poke around & look at things, try stuff out. I’ve been to the Boulder store, and it’s huge & fun.



