One usually thinks of the countryside as being peaceful and quiet but when spring returns, it is anything but quiet and not just here in the End of the Rainbow Valley.
Of course, there's the welcomed songs of the birds. And the honking of the returning sandhill cranes as they fly overhead but there's a manmade sound that monopolizes the air space and that's the sound of the chainsaw.
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| Apple wood |
It's clean up time. Time to start removing deadwood, brush and most importantly, working on rebuilding the woodpile for next winter already.
Although Natureman's still recuperating from the cold/ cough of the century as I've named it, he had to take advantage of the mild 60 degree day to tackle the apple trees where disease has attacked another one of the 30 year old trees. I could call him the Butcher of the End of the Rainbow Valley as the hillside's view opened up with his afternoon of chainsaw work. But I know it's necessary to remove the diseased wood lest the other trees become infected.
So trip after trip, he carted the cut branches down to the campsite area where they will be burned. Normally I would have been helping him cart it yet my body had insisted on a 3 hour nap. Yep, I had slept through all that chainsaw buzzing ( I told you that cough was bad.)
When Natureman called it a day and sat enjoying his afternoon beer with me on the porch swing, he remarked about feeling tired. Ya think? Both of us smiled, admiring the spring day and feeling grateful winter is almost behind us...
Monday reminded me of my first visit to the Valley some 12 years ago. Why? With mild temps in the 60's no less, Natureman had decided to start pruning the fruit trees.
The wind was pretty fierce so there was no ladder climbing but I self appointed myself to gather the cut branches and bring them to the goat pasture for the goats. Snack time.
Goats are
browsers so they like chewing on the new growth of the branches.
Back in '02 on that first visit Natureman was proudly showing me the apple orchard when I commented that it looked like the trees hadn't been pruned recently. "How do you know? " I tilted my head and said the phrase that has since been repeated many times,
"Well, you know I am a Master Gardener." He smirked and replied, "you caught me."
The importance of pruning the suckers is to allow air flow between the branches to prevent disease (apple scab/fire blight). Scab affects the leaves with a fungus that is spread by the wet spring winds and with blight the branches appear charred and is transferred by insects. The largest and oldest apple tree, planted in '77, started dying last year because pruning has never been a big priority here in the End of the Rainbow Valley. Even if you don't need all the apples it's tough to have an old specimen die. Be sure and prune before the insects/ winds take the disease to other trees.
In case you have trees to prune also remember it's important to dip your loping shears in bleach and water inbetween each tree pruning or otherwise you take the chance of spreading disease. Also be sure and discard those cut branches to another area away from the trees.
Fruit trees blooming are pretty magnificent but we'll have to wait another month here in the End of Rainbow Valley to see those blooms... Stay tuned.
