Niwaki

For $35 one can rent a 14-foot fiberglass ladder from Frank's up on Stanford.  With Baldo's help and his truck, we were able to manhandle it into the backyard for the annual tune-up of the black pine.  

Two and a half years ago in October 2022, Richard Vigil and I spent a day tip pruning and shaping the tree with bamboo poles in the style of the niwaki at the Botanic Garden.  Last spring I gave it a trim using a 12' ladder and now it was time again.  

While the lower branches have had some die-back, the upper canopy is starting to look good.  For now, I'm not doing much on the lower part of the tree, but that can be reached with my 6' step ladder if its candles start to elongate latter in the season.  

Meanwhile, the rest of the garden looks very good, thanks to Caro's diligent work.  Snapdragons, Buddleja, lilies, and a host of annuals are brightening the space.  Mercifully, the mosquitos are quiescent, especially the pesky Egyptian ones.  

All in all, the garden is a refuge from the daily insults coming out of Washington.  The courts are moving sooo slowly that it's very frustrating.  I can only imagine how this feels for those whose lives have been directly and negatively impacted.  So we tend our trees and flowers, help Jane out with the vegetables in her backyard, and somehow act normally in such abnormal times.  Protests will have to wait until June 14th.