Spring is coming!  I'm bringing the ladder  for more pruning...

                                                     bringing down ladder

Here we are on the ladder in the Grove. The trees have grown a lot in the last season!  Unfortunately, there are signs that this was another very tough winter. This was partly due to the lack of snow on the ground. The trees will need lots of food to help them grow this spring.  We're ready for the task!

                                                                                             on the ladder

Here we're working on a pile of tree food that has just come in! I'm very enthusiastic of course.  It's a compost of sorts that will provide lots of organic material and other things the trees need. It arrived near the driveway in a really big dump truck that would have compressed the wet ground above the Grove too much. The load alone weighed almost 10 tons! It is going to be hauled up to the top of the Grove tomorrow with a smaller truck. In the meantime we'll bring some to Mom's garden and to our trees and native plants near the studio...

                              the tree food pile

then head to the Grove with Mom's wagon! The box contains tree tying material to secure the trees.  You know how this works by now! Across the stream and up the bank we go...

                                      from the stream

across the field...

                                                          field

up the hill...

                                                                                  hill

to the very top of the Grove!  Here Mom's wagon is almost fully loaded!  We begin by pulling the tree food in from under the fence...

                                                                      beneath the pile

then continue by bringing it down from the top.

             

                                                                    above the pile

There's still some snow in some places.  We empty the wagon near each tree. We'll spread it with a rake later.

  

                                                                                            snow

We're  heading down from the pile.  Here it's a steady trip downward.  It's almost relaxing.

            

                                          heading down

Mostly, though it's a rather steep trip from the pile! Here Mom's wagon is set up for loading. I have a rock under the wheels to keep it from zipping on down. Sometimes it still does though.

       

                                                                        prepared for loading

Down we go! With a couple of hundred pounds of tree food on Mom's wagon this part doesn't take long.  A minute of bouncing jouncing teeth rattling adventure.  

 

                                                                               on the way down                                              *

There's lots more to do...

                                                                           please continue here

             

                                                            

                                   * pictures courtesy of  A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.