Tree trimming

In the apartment complex where I live, some huge pine trees on the south end of the property were trimmed this past week. Our place (upstairs on the end) is shaded by these trees from the direct sunlight as it moves overhead from east to west. My birdies have been hanging out in the tree closest to us and speckling the walk to the downstairs apartment with, um, bird poop. Not to mention the amazing acrobatics the squirrels perform when jumping from our railing to the tree. It has all come to an end, with the tree now looking like this:

Not knowing what the tree trimmers would do, I was prepared for any eventuality from this sort of result to seeing the tree chopped completely down. I was actually quite pleased as I saw that these guys, who do it for a living, managed to keep the integrity of the tree while doing what was necessary. As they worked, I got on my new iPad2 and used Facetime to show my sister in Florida the operation while it was in progress. (Have I mentioned I LOVE my new toy?) The only really hard part was seeing the big branches weeping as if they had lost a limb. Oh, wait, they had; more than one, even!

The sap coming out of the poor chopped-off limbs looks a little like blood, doesn't it? The birds still come to my feeders in large numbers, so it hasn't stopped them. I do wonder if the tree feels it. When I woke this morning to the loud thud of a bigger-than-bird-sized creature on the porch, I saw a squirrel checking out the dropped feed for morsels. I peeked out the window to watch him. He had gained access to the porch by climbing up the side of the building, and I watched in amazement as he launched himself off to the branches... which weren't there! He landed with a loud whump on the stairs below and scampered up the tree in consternation. I don't think he'll try that again.

Since it's Saturday, I wandered off to the Farmers' Market after a walk in the light rain. A woman who comes to the market every Saturday was filling her basket with the latest fresh veggies from Rabbit Fields Farm, my favorite place to get some fresh produce myself. They always have people lined up waiting for the bell to ring so they can stock up for the week. The rain had stopped and the sun was breaking through the clouds as I was leaving. One vendor's treats made me realize it was getting close to noon. Instead of actually buying any of these, I took a picture of her mouth-watering treats and hung onto my money.

Do not enlarge if you are dieting

It was those lemon tarts that caught my eye and made me wrestle with myself before heading home to eat some nutritious and much less fattening food.
:-)