It was another cold night last night, though —10F is not as cold as it’s been. I worked on phenotyping apples this morning. Amazingly enough, most of the apples I collected in the fall are still in very decent shape. That means that there’s still hope that I’ll get to yours!

Late morning, Skylar and I went up to the Finley orchard to cut scionwood. Although the temperature did finagle its way above zero, it was still cold, the snow was deep and the wind was piercing. But I needed to cut a scionwood order for some folks in Texas who will be grafting soon. Supposedly it’s warm down there. Our scionwood is going to be mighty surprised when the box is opened and the scions discover they’ve just gained about 70 degrees. Hopefully they won’t die of shock.

Colby College apple class, January, 2026

Once it begins to warm up a bit, I’ll spend more and more time pruning and cutting scionwood. The Apples class I taught during Jan Plan at Colby College is over. That took a big chunk of my time in January. I think the students enjoyed taking a deep dive into all things “Malus” over the month. I had fun too. On the final day (January 28) they each made a presentation, all of which were interesting and often hilariously entertaining. I will miss the students. Some have promised to come visit the farm in the spring. I hope they do.