Tree work

By this morning, the rain had ceased, thank goodness - there is snow on the mountains over 2000m. It is still cold, but we have so far resisted lighting the woodburner - looks like it should be back up to the low/mid 20s by Tuesday :-)

Today, we started tackling the little orchard which is up the chemin, behind Benazet's house. Two of the trees are carrying really good sized, juicy apples on their upper branches... ideal for our forthcoming cider project. A bit of tree shaking had them raining down and they are now safely stowed in the barn. We then set about tackling the branches which, in places, are weighing quite heavily on the telephone and electricity cables that run through the orchard. We also lopped off many dead and diseased branches in an effort to tidy the trees up a bit in preparation for a proper pruning in due course. They have been sadly neglected over recent years and the lower branches have died due to light being cut out by the heavier upper canopy. They will need a severe seeing to if they are to stand a chance of being restored to their former glory. But it could be a rewarding project if we have got the patience.