Apple Tree Pruning Musings

There, in the middle, the leaves have closed together, that means the apple tree has shut down for the autumn

Can you see in the middle of the leaves...that's next spring's bud...

Rosy, my lovely Moondaugther (one day, may be, I'll tell you the miraculous story of our relationship) spent the week-end with us.  She is a gardener and taught me how to prune my espaliered apple tree this morning. Hence the two pictures. Isn't that amazing...on one hand the tree has already stopped growing and is drawing its energies inwards because its autumn soon and, at the same time. it has already formed it's spring buds. Nothing will happen to them until they unfurl in spring of course but they are already there!

It made me think about how human beings could learn from that. The art of withdrawing at the end of something, a relationship, a job, whatever and at the same time producing the bud for the next one...just the bud mind, a kind of hopeful bud, a bud that will have to remain dormant for 6 months at least but a bud nevertheless. I'm going to apply this to my life somehow. At the very moment when everything appears to be vibrant, the earth has started to close down its energies in preparation for next spring. I find that amazing!

So. lets see how to apply this to my life...mmm... I have lost my job as a visiting lecturer in mental health and am not likely to find another one and frankly don't want to do this anymore anyway. So I have closed by leaves together and am busy pruning what I no longer need which meant that I had to give up my accountant...

GIVING UP MY ACCOUNTANT...

That was like giving my old self up. He had been my accountant for 30 years because, even though I was making less and less money, I am the sort of woman who has an accountant, aren't I? Well, people, I am not, I have not been for at least 10 years. He was my "I will not let go of this and create no buds, I will remain unchanged" branch...I have been paying him all these years out of...well lets say it, out of vanity. Because, I could not close my leaves and allow that other unknown bud to come. Yesterday, after some serious energy clearing with my lovely friend Sandra, I wrote to him and said farewell...

SO A NEW BUD APPEARED!

That's how it works, imagine it, everytime I let go of some old belief/pattern/habit, it means my internal apple tree closes leaves and produces a bud. Now we do not know if the bud will bring anything to flower but its there and will remain gestating for six months.

SIX MONTHS

To let myself create that bud, to nourish it and give it energy. Trusting that with a bit of luck, it will flower in spring and even more luckily, it will get polinated and then create an apple and then the apple will be ready to be picked...ah, yes, in a year's time!!!!

AMAZING!

In the meanwhile, I am filling in the winter cupboards with bramble and crab apple jellies, ginger cordial, rosehip syrup. All this will nourish the little bud, keep it safe and snug against the cold!

Store cupboard!

Happy musing, harvesting, watching, edgerow forageing!