Willow Windfall!

[MaggieJ]

Literally. The horrid winds we had here yesterday brought down a lot of branches from our huge weeping willow tree. Poor old tree!
:bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:
But it makes the bunnies happy... our harvest of willow twigs and leaves is now safe. I took my pruning shears and an old double bedsheet down. The geese kept me company. I broke and cut small leafy branches off the boughs and loaded them onto the spread sheet, then tied the corners together and half-carried, half-dragged the whole thing back to the house. There is still more to gather, but it will keep until tomorrow.

 

[ladysown]

yeehaw! no ladders to harvest!

Do you think your tree will survive the winter?

 

[MaggieJ]

Oh, yes... barring some extreme storm, it should survive quite nicely. What's on the ground looks like a lot, but this tree is massive and likely only lost a tiny percentage of its foliage. The main problem with this tree is that it no longer hangs to the ground... I can now barely reach the lower branches, so it is hard to harvest without a little help from the wind.

 

[Brody]

LOVE your willow tree -nice of her to make your harvest a little easier

 

[MaggieJ]

Thanks, Brody... She's a grand old tree, for sure!

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

I was able to gather some that fell from the tree in town, and some apple branches from Rebecca's tree.

Do you need a hand gathering willow and bunching it to dry? I have the walls of my shed loaded with nails near the ceiling, and each has a good sized bundle of dry willow hanging from it. Your shed is good and tall, should be able to hang lots

 

[MaggieJ]

Thanks so much, but you have enough on your plate just now. Good point about the height of the shed... I could hang plenty up there and I know just the tall person to help with that! I think we could likely just hoist the whole sheet up and tie it there. We won't be wanting it until later in the winter. This fall has been so mild that I'm hoping for a few more weeks of greens gathering.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

Yes, your shed could hang LOTs of full sheets I filled the back of my van with willow, and the bundles that fell apart are sitting in an old hammock hung high in a corner (Dad made a "hammock" for me to play in as a kid, made from heavy old fish net found after a hurricane). Hey, with all those pullies from my grampa's garage you could have them up high all over the ceiling and lower them as needed Must be nice to have so much space to work with!

 

[MaggieJ]

Good idea about the pulleys. I'll have to see what I can rig... or what one of the guys can rig for me.