Slow and partial progress is still progress
(FYI: Links in this newsletter now route to my own blog instead of Medium, in case you were annoyed by Medium's paywall.)
I finally got up the nerve to start a real pruning job on my red laceleaf Japanese maple trees, a task that intimidated me for years. Japanese maples need to be trimmed carefully to keep the tree healthy and maximize their beauty. I learned the principles, then sat under the first tree for a very long time just looking up at the branches. This time I saw how they would grow in the future, not just how they'd grown in the past. Then I started.
It took three hours to do two trees, and it was time well spent. I'm not done; I'll have to do more pruning in winter, but I feel good about getting over my fear, the choices I made and the results so far. They look more like trees and less like mushrooms!
I might not have attempted this if I hadn't already successfully removed one tree and pruned another. Those small achievements buoyed my confidence and willingness to clear even more old to make way for the new. This is the process that fall begins. It is my favorite season.
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