Ibuprofen, The Breakfast of Champions

Yesterday was a big day for muscle stretching and calorie burn. 

The guys at coffee advised that yesterday was going to be a good day to mow grass.  I did not get quite that far.

I was finally able to start burning the brush pile.  Most of the morning was taken up by dragging brush to the fire and pitching it in. 

Strong Language Warning

A little bit of the morning was spent climbing up a ladder and cutting out some of the storm damaged limbs that had one end on the ground and one end hanging by a thread up in the tree.  This is a high risk activity.  Just for the record this was not me up in the tree.

The afternoon was spent grafting plums.  These are plum seedlings that a friend dug up for me near the South Dakota/Nebraska border.  They were planted out near the road last spring.  They were still wee bitty dudes and grafting them involved much sitting, bending and kneeling.  I am getting too old for this stuff.  I prefer to do my kneeling in church, thank-you very much.

As a bonus I grafted some Totten Oak. The scionwood was supplied by Lucky Pittman of Hopkinsville, Ky.  I asked him for some selections of Burr Oak and he threw these in because he thought I would like them.  The guy in this video seems to think they are pretty awesome.  It is a gamble because they are listed as hardy to Zone 6. 

Sometimes I can get away with cheating by grafting higher in the tree.  The coldest air puddles up on the ground.  Also, the most severe freeze/thaw cycling occurs right at the snow line.  I grafted them about 5' from the ground.  Unless we get serious drifting we rarely see five feet of snow, so I think I am safe.

I finished out the day planting rooted willow cuttings, a hot shower.

Today looks like post holes and grafting apple trees.

And more Ibuprofen.