a visit from the Tree pruner

Yesterday was a high water mark between the tree and I. A woman answered my plea for pruning advice, and came with shears in hand. She was wearing a marvelous felted yellow hat (I think all gardeners should wear wonderful hats), and opened by asking if it would be okay if she stood and "felt" the tree a little before we started. As I recently visited with the tree in a dream, "feeling" the tree is entirely within the realm of rational.

I was given a lesson in pruning, and found I was (actually) being a little to lenient on the new growth. We marked branches with different colored ribbons: green for a definite cut, and red or white for possible cuts (cutting all of one of the colors chosen). All in all, it was a wonderful experience.