Winter work hastens spring

I let my garden grow wild, it let it flourish – grass grows high, flowers attract pollinators, a million leaves turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. During the vegetative season, which seems to start earlier each year, I cut only that which needs cutting to allow me access to important parts of the plot. So the bulk of the year's pruning I do in the weeks between the last frosts and the early spring when the sap starts to rise and branches are no longer crack crisply between the blades of my lopper.

So far this year, I've done three or four pruning/lopping/shearing sessions, but there's much land to cover (I have banned the use of power tools, especially fossil-fuel powered ones), so it's all done by hand. It's now late-January, and a little gardening work on dry, sunny days is in order.

Below: in the orchard. There will be few apples last year, as my unsprayed trees are biennial bearing; the next cider-apple harvest will be in 2026. But in the meanwhile, some tidying-up is due.

A walk is in order. I can sense that spring is on its way; winter might return for a few days yet, but there's something in the air that suggests an early rebirth; some subtle smells? The feel of the air on my face? When the sun pops out and the temperature rises into double digits, intimations of spring fill me with optimism. Today's walk was my first without a parka since late October, and gardening was done with just two layers (shirt + cardigan). Below: on the edge of Jakubowizna, border with Machcin II.

Below: the sun sets at quarter past four; between Węszelówka and Piekut. Lovely sky, like liquids of different viscosities being swirled about.

Below: double-decker train heading to Warsaw – one of two that don't stop in Chynów (much to my annoyance). These services (KM 21128 and KM 21130) for some reason skip almost all stations between Radom and W-wa Służewiec except Dobieszyn, Warka and Piaseczno. Passing through Chynów at around 16:30 and 18:20, both would be brilliant for getting into town quickly for an evening of culture or entertainment, rushing to town in a mere 20 minutes (to Służewiec) or half an hour (to Zachodnia).  

Below: Wenusia, a kitten in the process of becoming a cat. A joy to be around, the perfect feline companion. More on life with Wenusia in a week's time, a month after she followed me home.

This time last year:
Precognition – the future foretold

This time two years ago:
Levels of Detail, Applied
[More dreams!]

This time six years ago:
Dreams of birth?

This time seven years ago:
Foggy, icy, slippery day in Jeziorki

This time 11 years ago:
Hannah Arendt and the banality of evil

This time 12 year ago:
Snow scene into the sun

This time 13 years ago:
More winter gorgeousness

This time 14 years ago:
New winter wear - my M65 Parka

This time 15 years ago:
Winter and broken-down trains

This time 16 years ago:
General Mud claims ul. Poloneza

This time 17 years ago:
Just when I thought winter was over...