Take that, plum tree

Before

The Martha Stewart magazine had an article last year about pruning fruit trees. It showed off her "heritage" apple orchard being meticulously pruned, twig by twig. Of course she wasn't out there on a ladder in February-- Martha hires expert tree arborists, although she probably goes out to check their work afterwards.

Pruning fruit trees is both physically hard and mentally challenging, unlike most garden chores that are either one or the other. No wonder people put it off. But even the "dwarf" fruit varieties get tangled and too tall without annual pruning. I suppose many a limb has been broken (human, that is) reaching out on a ladder for that last delicious-looking plum.

John does not get involved in pruning our plum tree unless I ask him to whack off something large with his chainsaw, which he seems to enjoy. And if you look closely at the picture above, you can see the top was sliced off once as a last resort after several years of neglect. I don't recommend it. Cutting off the top removes all the mature "fruiting" branches and the tree sends up hundreds of useless shoots. But after a couple of long years and more restrained thinning, there may finally be plums again.

After

There are articles, videos and entire books on the subject of fruit tree pruning. I think it appeals to fussy gardeners which I am not, being more of the "amputate and just get it over with" pruning personality. But after many years of butchery, I've learned to slow down and do a more thoughtful job on our apple and plum.

Sunday was overcast and cold but dry, and I got the job done in a couple of hours. I left the prunings in a big messy pile for the ground birds to enjoy. Chopping them up is a chore for another day.

So if we're lucky to get warm weather this spring, no aphids and enough pollinators, there might be nice plums to look forward to in September:

Which seems like a lifetime away...

A unique supermarket

When we stay in Twisp, we find ourselves shopping at Hank's Harvest Foods at least once a day. Hank's is a family owned grocery store, and Hank has been a pillar of the community since 1975. For the locals it's the place to buy food, greet friends and gossip about the latest valley news. And Hank's provides a good service too, since the next nearest large grocery store is 45 minutes away on the other side of the Loup Loup mountain pass. Hank's has reasonable prices and a nice wine selection. Bulk cheese and house-made sausage is especially cheap; a good thing for getting through a cold winter. And the store is scattered with odd things like tools, cheap toys and lawn ornaments.

But! Glance up up while shopping, and you'll see things you wouldn't find in a Seattle grocery store. Mr. Hank is a big game hunter, and the store is bristling with mounted heads and stuffed animals he's brought home from hunting expeditions around the world. Including two African lions. (Don't ask, don't tell.)

There are assorted horns and horned creature heads looming over the frozen food aisle:

A lion guards the Pepsi cooler:

And when all those eyes follow you around,
who needs store security?

Last weekend, we checked out the latest addition:

Just like being on the African savanna in the dog food section. Although by now we've been to Hank's so many times we feel almost like locals, and hardly notice the critters. Although it's hard to miss this one by the front doors.

And you can see why a lady with cranes in her cart wouldn't get a second look at Hank's.

Red-crowned Crane

At Marwell Zoo, England

The Red-crowned Crane is a rare bird, with an population of only 1500 in the wild. They spend summer nesting in Siberia, but winter in east Asian countries where their habitat of marshlands, rice fields and swamps is disappearing. They are magnificent birds and stand 60 inches tall. The crane is an important symbol in Asian culture because they symbolize longevity, good luck and fidelity. In Japan, they are said to live for 1000 years.

If you've been to our house, then you might remember this silk painting of Red-crowned Cranes that has been hanging over the fireplace since 1997:

I bought it at a tourist booth near the Great Wall of China, and carried it home rolled up in my suitcase. The frame shop down the street did a nice job mounting it for many more yen than I gave the artist at the souvenir stand.

And the big tin cranes came from another "exotic" place. They were rescued this weekend from a dusty, high shelf in the far corner of Hank's Supermarket in Twisp. They caught my eye and so I wheeled them to the check-stand with the bread and ice cream.

But there are much stranger sights at Hank's Supermarket than a lady with cranes in her shopping cart. (More on that later.)

Of course they belong outside. For our friends and family back East hit with another snow storm, I hate to tell you I was pruning roses yesterday. The gardens are waking up fast in our part of Seattle. And so I took the cranes out to see their new home. Soon they will have a nice patina of rust and look like antiques...if they don't fall apart first.

Meet "Jack" the cat

Jack loves attention. He doesn't mind at all when his nose is touched or his tail is (accidentally) pulled. He might walk away, but he never gets annoyed with Nova. What a nice cat.
And Jack and Roger like each other, too. But they both love Amanda. Who doesn't? Although Nova gets jealous when they pile up together on her Mommy's lap. "Up! Up! Up!"

If that's not love, what is?

"Cats are intended to teach us
that not everything in life has a purpose."
Garrison Keillor

Methow weekend

Methow River
Winthrop, WA

The Methow Valley is beautiful (almost) year round, but it's spectacular on a blue sky winter day when the sun shines on the river and the snowy hills. Sunday was one of those perfect days, and it made up for Monday and Tuesday which were both gray and cold.

But...who cares about the weather when you have family time together?

Busy downtown Winthrop.

A family moment on the Winthrop suspension bridge.

Grandpa, Nova and Roger on a walk to Twisp City Park.

Lots of playing and hanging out in the warm house...

But hard to say bye-bye, for now.

Deep reading

The Web is essentially a distraction machine.
Hyperlinks are meant to take you away from where you are.

John Miedema
Slow Reading

John Miedema makes an analogy between the slow food movement and slow reading. Just like cooking from scratch, it takes time and effort to read closely. It's the difference between a frozen pizza and one that takes an afternoon to make. Most of the things we value these days need to be done instantly. Of course cooking is just a chore, if you don't enjoy it on some basic level. Same for reading. There's a case made (and any high school teacher will agree) that endlessly skimming information and managing snippets of electronic conversation makes us dull and isolated, not smarter or socially adept.

Close reading means deliberately slowing your reading speed for enjoyment and comprehension. And there are books worth dawdling over. I was sorry to finish Jonathan Franzen's novel, Freedom. Not so much because a good story was finished, but because his writing and observations are so pleasurable and keen, even when painful to read.

Franzen's 2001 novel The Corrections was a book club favorite (yes, Oprah) but if you enjoyed it you have a reading treat ahead with Freedom. It's 562 pages long, so take your time.