Daniel & Rufus

You have about double the # of rose bushes than we have. That's a lot of rose bushes!

Also a lot pf digging for you!

Better to be have been young and foolish than be old and stay foolish! Maybe a different kind of foolish...

The battery trimmer is a "game changer" for an old person.

Thanks! That was my first effort at that idea. I had a tubular steel one from the store that was becoming unstable and bending. This is more solid. I like upcycling stuff, so it was fun to use wood supplies from the shed. Wheels on axles might be more stable than casters but not as strong.

bsky.app/profile/wend...

I just noticed - the woman on the right appears to be missing 1 finger on her right hand. Not sure about the left, or about the other wonan. More missing fingers? Or just photographic issues?

A lot of varieties are very rugged. They can be found in old cemeteries still growing after many decades of neglect.

We have more to take care of than I can do without wearing myself out. But, it's too hard to get rid of them because each variety is the "most beautiful ".

Back view of mobile tool box / seat for gardener. If I had to make a new one, I would use axles and somewhat bigger wheels instead of casters. The casters are too mobile, so it doesn't pull as straight and sometimes falls over. Still it's very useful for me. A big help, and more stable / stronger / larger than the previous stool that I had bought. The pruners make pruning much easier. I'm VERY CAREFUL to keep fingers and thumbs out of the way - they cut through 3/4" branches INSTANTLY. The extend my reach as well as cut more easily. I sharpen with each round of pruning, for clean cuts. I use the clippers especially to mow off trailing wild blackberries and other weeds at ground level. Very effective. When they start to grow back from remaining roots & crowns, I'll use a digging tool to finish the job.

Front side of rolling toolbox / bench. The rope is for pulling it around. The holes bring in light. The pad is a fisherman's seat. By making it, I avoided buying new parts (except casters). The wood is all recycled and the stain was left over from other projects. The fastener screws were also all re-used.

Gardener's aids for more #accessiblegardening. A home made stool and tool box, on casters, for sitting while working and keeping tools close by. The box was made from scrap lumber, and finished with deck stain. See alt text. Motorized pruner and trimmers. 🌱

Tin type photograph. Two women, possibly sisters. One holds bible. Both wear patterned dresses, possibly home made.

From the old photo box. Unlabeled tin type. I'm guessing 1860s? 1870s? Might be ancestors but I don't know.
#vintagephotos #tintypes

You are lucky to have such a caring human!

Row of roses (right side) mostly weeded and pretty severely pruned. When growth starts, I'll make another pass through pulling weeds by roots, then a new layer of mulch. I aimed for open center bushes, sturdy young canes, about knee- to slightly below waist height. They were 6 to about 12 feet tall at start of winter. Most are 10 to 25 years old.

Rose garden cleanup and pruning so far. Front row is almost done, four bushes need additional cleanup and pruning. #roses 🌱 🌹

Asian pear tree pruned to accessible but deer-unfriendly dimensions.

Pear tree with half of pruning done.

2nd Asian pear tree pruned today as usual Fruiting spurs low enough for me to reach w/o ladder, spurs too short to droop to deer height, and too high for deer to be comfortable reaching up to. I think this is Nijiseiki pear but it wasn't labeled. #HomeOrchard #deer #AccessibleGardening 🌱

Pink Cherry blossoms with timber bamboo in the background.

One pink camellia blossom.

It's pink season. Flowering cherry, no particular variety. I grafted onto wild cherry seedling 15 years ago. Camellia, also no particular variety. This was transplanted years ago. Original shrub was red/white flowers, so this might have been the rootstock. #bloomsky 🌱 #gardening

You are feeding my bloom envy!

That was so confusing. It really was like "how dare you make accusations about sex trafficking girls and young women, when the stock market is up? I THINK that is a standard narcissist ploy - make a complete non sequitur and leave people scratching their heads, Definitely flying monkey territory.

Hope it goes well and a speedy recovery!

Buy Winged Blood Thorn Rose | FREE SHIPPING | Wilson Bros Gardens | 5 Gallon Pot for sale online| Rosa sericea var. pteracantha

Here's an interesting one for you Zach. Rosa sericea pteracantha. Winged Blood Thorn Rose. (I don't know anything about the nursery) (probably too big for most gardens)
www.wilsonbrosgardens.com/rosa-sericea...

Multigraft Asian plum tree after pruning. This tree started as Methley. I added on Shiro and Hollywood about ten years ago. My fruit tree shaping philosophy: no branches easily reached by deer. That includes long slender willowy branches that will droop with weight of fruit. But, as someone who isn't as able as I used to be, keep all branches low enough to reach without a ladder. So, there's a "Goldilocks Zone". I try to keep fruiting spurs 6" to a foot long. I don't worry too much about keeping the center open. it has sort of a flat top, so sun reaches all of the leaves and fruit.

I removed 2-3 feet of top growth from this Methley+Shiro+Hollywood Asian plum multigraft tree. Buds are swelling! So prolific - hundreds of potential plums. I thin a LOT. Pruning philosophy: short enough so no ladder needed. Too high for deer. 🌱 #HomeOrchard #AccessibleGardening

That's amazing! Pretty darn clever, too!

Buddhist monks' 15-week walk for peace ends in Washington, DC A group of Buddhist monks has finally reached Washington, D.C., after completing a 15-week trek from Texas that captivated the country.

The Buddhist Monks reached Washington DC, today. I'm very relieved that they made it without more challenges or injuries. I think the effect is more for inner peace. I found it very moving, watching them enter the city with a police escort. #PeaceWalk #Buddhist

apnews.com/article/budd...

Such a beautiful rose!

#booksky #VietnamWar

Three rose bushes after February pruning. Most of mine are Hybrid Teas or English roses.

Rose bush before pruning. Growth (red) is about an inch long. On the ground are trailing native blackberries, a big problem. I am removing as much of those as i can.

Today I pruned five (of about 15) rose bushes. I hope I didn't kill them. New shoots are about an inch long already.

#Gardening #Roses

‘A white man’s war, a Black man’s fight’: the eye-opening story of Black soldiers in Vietnam At a time when Black military history is being rewritten under Trump officials, new book The War Within a War provides a vital reminder

I started "The War Within a War" by Wil Haygood, today. It takes me a couple months to read a good book.

It's a crime that the war history is being rewritten by racists and someone who got deferments.

I am a veteran of that era, but not sent to Vietnam.

www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Cross section of Stanley plum tree log. It shows colors of magenta heartwood, grey transition wood, and yellow sapwood.

This Stanley plum tree reached the end of its stability, so I started cutting it down.

Such pretty wood. If I was still a woodworker, I would save the logs and make something.

🌱 #gardening #homeorchard

What a joyous color scheme! It's wonderful!

Machine quilting is a challenge, for sure! Even though it gets better each time, every slide of the needle to where you didn't intend, says this quilt was made by YOU, not some poor somebody or automated machine in a factory.

it's a beautiful quilt!

When I was a little lad, I grew up by the Mississippi river. Back then it froze across the entire river, and we ice skated on it and cut holes in the ice for fishing. I guess the Saco doesn't freeze thick enough do do that safely now.

Thank you!

It was a challenge coming up with a pattern for the panel, but I learned some new techniques and it will go for a good cause.

Beautiful color choices and piecework!

After Walking 2,300 Miles, These Buddhist Monks Are Arriving in DC - Washingtonian The Walk for Peace—which some monks did barefoot—braved snow and a tragic accident. They're set to arrive February 10 with a request for Congress.

Monks to arrive in Washington DC on 10 Feb. Many blessings. May their travels be without more major incidents. 🪷

#PeaceWalk #Buddhist #Aloka

washingtonian.com/2026/02/05/a...