There's a new predator in town. Our turkey hens are very broody and doing their best to find a safe, dry place to nest. Bourbon Red turkeys are known for their maternal insticts. Because they're free range, they travel into the oak woods, under the landscape bushes, into the garden cart, and under scrub oaks along the driveway laying eggs. If we spot them going to a nest, we will gather their eggs for future hatching in our incubator. Occasionally the dogs will find an egg and enjoy a little snack. Today I spotted a big ol' raven stealing eggs. She swooped in and landed by the nest, picked up that big turkey egg in her beak and flew off. A few minutes later she was back for another. We'll have to do something about that raven if we want to have any chicks. Last year a raven killed a good number of the babies before we caught her in the act.
We never seem to hit the late winter pruning tasks at just the right time before the trees and vines break their dormant sleep and the sap starts to run towards the sky. This year has been particularly difficult to gauge as the day time temperatures are unusually warm. The fruit trees just need a little trim so being late isn't a problem but the grape vines need over half their stems cut back so that fruit will form on the new growth. We started making cuts and they started weeping, so we stopped to make a decision - to prune or not to prune?
Pruning can be risky when done incorrectly. Sometimes pruning is necessary to prevent disease or to cut out dead weight. Done carefully and with thought, pruning forces new growth and produces more fruit. I feel that way about life. Like plants, people need to prune in their lives. Trouble is, when the weeping starts, we stop to think it over. If I think of this philosophy in terms of my relationships, job, mental and physical health, and priorities, "pruning" can be a very effective way to take control and focus on the joy in life.
The sun is shining this afternoon. I think I'll get out the pruning shears and ignore the weeping. Those grape vines need some tough love!
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It actually may be a bit *early* to prune those grapes, even though they cry. If you prune now, and the new growth starts, and then freezes, it would do more damage than a late pruning. At least that's what our mentor here in CA told us. The vineyards around here often don't prune until late April for that reason.
ReplyDeleteSounds like that raven's family tree could use a little early pruning, though.