Chipping day is an annual event at Super Chilly Farm. We gather a crew, borrow a large pull-behind chipper from a friend and then chip up all the apple prunings from the past winter. Chipping the branches helps to break them down quickly and makes them perfect for mulch. The prunings become food for the orchard. Nothing goes to waste.

Someone (mostly me) stands by the chipper and feeds in the branches one right after another while everyone else drags material from the closest pile. It’s extremely loud, hot, fast, and relentless. It’s a marathon and a sprint rolled into one.

Today I was joined by Skylar and her friends Tsering and Asi. The four of us chipped all day and miraculously got everything done by 6:30. Nearly two hours to spare before dark! It was a gargantuan effort, but we had time for a delicious cold, noodle salad lunch on the porch.