What do you look for as you turn toward spring?  We notice longer daylight hours and therefore more eggs.  We prepare by ordering seeds and plants.  We start seeds and put the plants into the soil. We sell plants in the stand and we tidy around the farm.  We do many other preparatory activities but one of the biggest undertakings in preparation for spring is to prune our apple, pear and plum orchard.   Pruning is one of the our most marked activities that prepares our minds for the upcoming growing season.  It is also fantastic in its application to our daily living. Let’s be honest, so much of farming holds excellent lessons for our daily living! Ha!
To explain the physical work of pruning: we start with what is easy and obvious, we cut out dead wood.  The next easy choice is to prune the multiple shoots from the year before that grow straight up to the sky threatening to crowd out the light and to grow into other branches.  Then, we direct our attention to the hundreds of pruning choices we make per tree.  We cut above the bud on each branch thereby choosing the direction that branch will grow.  We are cultivating the shape and focus for the tree, branch by branch.  Finally, we do the hardest part, we see the tree as a whole which can take a few years to grow into its form and we make bigger pruning cuts in order to open up the tree to even more sunlight and air flow. Some of those branches we choose to cut are fruit bearing, so it is hard to say goodbye to them.  We really don’t like cutting out potentially yummy fruit!  Over the years, however, we have learned that it is really important to prune out excess. We are saying no to some abundance this season in order to nourish the health of our trees for many seasons to come.  We know that we are making room for more sunlight and more air and we are providing fewer opportunities for pests and disease, but it is still hard in the moment.
So, what do you think?  What to prune this season?  What can you let go?  What direction do you want to cultivate focus and energy? Learn from the orchard and start with what is easy and work your way through to the harder choices.  Let go of what is no longer serving you and create space.  Cut out the excess and recognize that saying no is hard!  It is particularly challenging if you have to cut out something that is fruitful. 
The truth is, sometimes we simply must make space for the sunlight and spring air.

note: Not AI generated as is made obvious by the grammatical issues. 🙂