With more rain on the horizon (April showers…) we decided to spend the maximum allowable hours in the orchards pruning. Cammy tackled the large trees in the old orchard, and I finished up at Finley. Although it was overcast most of the day, the temps were warm and the conditions perfect for pruning.
Another reason for pruning: the apple trees produce fruit on new wood. You prune, and the tree replies with new wood. A couple years later you get fruit. Some years ago someone wrote to me about this phenomenon of fruiting on new wood. Though I don’t exactly remember how she put it, it was elegant. She wrote about our thinking and new wood. Our best thinking comes on new wood. We say New ideas, New thinking, Fresh starts. The new apple wood—the scionwood—is flexible. We say Flexible thinking. Epiphany is a sudden revelation based on a New insight. What is it about “new” and how do we get there? We prune. Out with the dead wood!
The Grand Dame of Finley Lane with the young sprout ready to take its place. March 30, 2026
Today marked the end of an old apple tree friend. The grand dame of Finley Lane. The big old hollow tree in the middle of our orchard. The one Abbey climbed inside years ago so I could photograph her poking her head out. Probably the oldest tree in Palermo or maybe Waldo County. It was likely a seedling that sprouted well before the Civil War and thrived for over 150 years. I had it DNA profiled, and the results showed no match. The tree died several years ago. In anticipation we grafted multiple young trees before that sad day. More recently a young tree sprouted up next to the old trunk. Maybe a rootsprout or maybe a seedling. Today I cut down the old trunk to make way for the young tree at its base. The old never actually end. They just step aside - bow out gracefully - and allow the young ones their day.
You can bet I’ll save the trunk pieces. The beautiful, old, gnarled wood will stay with us for a long time to come. Maybe another 150 years. I’ll make something new out of it. - a cutting board for slicing up this year’s harvest? Trim for the windows of our new cabin? Old and New.