George Conety and a friend came by today with their climbing gear to help save two of our favorite trees, the old apple tree (in the rear) and the white birch tree along the side of the house. These are two exceptionally beautiful trees with a lot of character and a lot of history.

George says the apple tree is at least 150 years old, and the birch might even be older. They were obviously planted by the first generations of farmers to live on the farm, which was built soon after 1800. We love these trees and George climbed way up in the bitter cold and wind to trim deal limbs and branches off.

A lot came off, but he said both trees were strong and healthy and would last a good while longer. We are always working to care for our farmhouse and the grounds, like everyone else, we don’t have enough money to do everything we would like to do, but we have made steady progress over the last few years.

Every winter, we marvel at the good and solid shelter the farm has provide for us, and for so many people before us. We are so grateful for it, it is where we should be. We have been so happy here, and so productive. I could not believe these two young men crawled around those trees for hours in cold so intense I could not be outside for more than a few minutes.

The cleaned up every twig and branch and hauled them off in a trailer. Maria said it was as good a gift as she could be given on her return from India, but it is a gift to both of us, and to the farm, which has been so generous to us.