Pruning Day

I couldn't have asked for better weather: nippy but not too cold, sunny with a bit of cloud cover, and no wind. And, since it's winter even in Florida, very little in the way of bugs, though I did see a bee on the move.

What with January's hard freeze, I waited at least two weeks before giving my new loppers their maiden outing. I was new to the job, too, having never pruned trees before. So I had to look fierce about it.

I trimmed four volunteer trees in total, taking just a bit off two and giving two more a more thorough going-over. Mainly I wanted to clear branches that looked potentially problematic for either our roof or our wires. This before-and-after shot shows the results most clearly.



Pruning is a literal in-your-face job. I checked to make sure the branches I cut weren't going to bean me. Some, caught by other branches, required coaxing down. Sometimes getting the right angle was a challenge, and some branches were just too thick for the lopper.

Ladder and lopper -- even one with extendable handles -- could take me only so far. I'm debating adding a pruning pole to my tools.

By the time I was done I had this to show for my labors:

Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other Journeys

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