Apple Tree Clutter

Today was one of those brilliantly sunny, magnificent spring days. The kind we have been waiting a very long time for. Plus it was a “stay-at-home” day for me, as opposed to a “work” or a “drive-kids-all-over-the-place” day. That meant as soon as we dropped the big kids off at school, and had our second breakfast (eggs for her, coffee for me), Alexandra and I spent all morning outside.

I was anxious to get to my list of weeding/clearing tasks. You saw the pictures of the half-weeded hoop house, the big old garden bed that I haven’t finished turning over, and the berry patches that need some tiding up since the chickens have been spreading the hay and leaves all over the place, right? Well, I didn't touch those. I made the mistake of wandering by the apple tree clutter, and once that was on my mind, the pull to work on it was too great to resist. I decided to treat myself to a little pruning before weeding. I figured I had all morning, so I’d still have time to get to the other stuff.

Of course I didn’t, though. My little pruning project turned into a vision of a shaded space among the trees, perfect for building forts and creating imaginary lands. This vision will take days of clipping, sawing, and hauling overgrown tree branches (Auntie M, don’t worry, I will save some for your next visit!), which means I barely made a dent in it this morning. By the time Clara was due home from school, I was completely worn out… and feeling a little guilty that I hadn’t even started on the higher priority tasks. 

Luckily, Dave likes my vision, and I’m pretty sure his nod of approval means I should continue to work on it tomorrow.