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I have a lot of ladder angst. So pole pruners are a revelation. I’m very happy that I finally bought one! So, with some help from my wife to support the pole in awkward positions, our oldest, and tallest, apricot tree is now top pruned and is ready for spring #HomeOrchard

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It is almost asparagus season! Last year we had enough for a snack. Perhaps this year we’ll have a nice side dish #Asparagus #Gardening #Yarden

A reddish green asparagus spear about 1/2” thick is in front of a hand. It is about twice as wide as the hand.
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Finally, I got a telephoto of the hawk hanging out around our backyard. Looks like a Red-shouldered Hawk, not a Red-tailed
#RedShoulderedHawk #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoC

A Red-shouldered hawk sits in a Tree of Heaven, ever watchful. It is mostly brownish-red with white patches, especially on its chest. It has some slicked back feathers upon its head. Its beak is black at the tip and orange closer to the face. Some blurry elderberry leaves obscure a portion of the bird.

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I wasn’t home but a hawk visited our backyard this morning AND the eggplant seeds sprouted (talk about spring-loaded) #RedTailedHawk #Gardening

A photo from under an awning, looking past grave vines toward a red tail hawk about 20 feet away, in a tree, with a bit of morning glow upon its feathers. A tiny green sprout in the center of a seed starting tray sugg moist soil. It’s brightly lit and the back of the plastic cover can be seen in the distance with condensation dripping down

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“I ONLY HAVE ONE LEG, COME AT ME!” - Western Meadowlark #WesternMeadowLark

#Birds #BirdPhotography #LlanoSeco #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

A meadow lark is perched upon a swing gate, with only one leg, and its back to the camera. Its head is turned to the left, beak open, as if it is singing. A patch of orange can be seen on its throat and behind its beak. The rest of the bird is mottled brown and white. The background is blurred out but there's a strip of green among the brown.

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Last night's rising moon, near the horizon, through a whole lot of atmosphere and some wispy clouds #Moon

A yellow-orange glowing moon where some of the darker maria can be seen as splotches. There's a shape kind of like a dog wearing oversized sunglasses. Or so my partner says. There's a vague hint of glowing clouds in front of the moon.

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My wife started seeds today. Lots of peppers, tomatoes, and Japanese eggplant. Spring is coming.

A seed starter tray with a grow lamp turned on. A thermometer reads 70.5° in front of the tray
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Today I juiced & heat pasteurized about 20 pounds of backyard mandarins for breakfast juice. Quite the bounty this year. Here’s a photo of one compost bucket filled with some of the remains #HomeOrchard #Yarden

A small 1/4 gallon (maybe?) plastic bucket full of bright orange mandarin skins, pith, seeds, and pulp. It’s sitting in front of a sliding glass door, against cabinets on a linoleum floor with a speckled leaf pattern.
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Today we stumbled across some magnificent Sandhill Cranes. These badasses were right off the side of a California state highway #SandhillCrane #BirdPhotography #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoC

Nine Sandhill Cranes in a shallow pond, slowly walking to the left. All the surrounding vegetation is brown. The large birds, with viciously sharp bills, have bright red on their foreheads. Their feathers are white to brown with a bit of rust red on the wing feathers.

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I better prune my fruit trees & grapes today. The trees are already a few weeks away from flowering #HomeOrchard #Yarden