Springtime in Nevada

It is springtime in Nevada, that means snow one day and 70 degree weather the next.  Last Friday we timed the snow just right for a great ski day.  Fairly soft snow and perfectly groomed runs.  I felt like the champion of the world and got in ten runs in two and a half hours of skiing. Calvin had 6 great runs in the "Chutes" which is a season best for him.  Calvin, Peter and Roque went up the next day and had icy slopes and gloomy weather.  Timing is everything.

Spring also means it is time for Calvin to do spring pruning.  Sunday he convinced Peter to help him take down the blue spruce in the back yard.  It was a lush tree, but had some serious structural problems.  Looking at it without branches I am amazed it has stayed standing all of these years. 

It is hard to capture all the twists and bends in the trunk.

 Believe it or not, it is not resting on the the ladder.  That is its natural angle.  Calvin and his chainsaw made quick work of the branches, but he is still figuring out how to get the trunk and roots down.

It seems a shame to cut down any living tree in Nevada, but the time had come for this spruce.