Pruners and a Bug

Our Dwarf Mandarin Orange tree looks sad.

I'll take this photo to the Master Gardeners tomorrow, along with a leaf.  I was the only one who was concerned with the tree.  Everyone else in Garden Club wanted to use the tools.  You broke all the tools, I told them.  We're not using the tools today.  Half the kids left after that announcement.  The rest of them enjoyed bite size pieces of freshly cut scallions,  while examining the remains of the roots we'd worked on last week.  

I thought about it once the bigger kids arrived.  I brought out the Felco Pruner.

I didn't let them carry the tool.  I didn't let them decide what to cut.  I showed them the advantages of a diagonal slice.  I demonstrated the locking mechanism.  By the time I was finished impressing them with the seriousness of our undertaking, the participants had been whittled down to a hearty few.

And so we began.

Accepting help with grace is a skill best learned early.

She held the root taut while he cut.

Thank you.

No problem.

I smiled and passed the tool on to another.

Just as I was cleaning up, someone found one last root.

He was very glad that he'd hung around to help me.

I sat on the bench as he tackled the chore alone.

Some kids just ooze responsibility; I was happy to reward it.

I thought we were finished, but this treasure was discovered.

Was it a cockroach?

Was it a beetle?

Whatever is was, we named it Phoebe.