The pecan harvest is over now, as we complete our first year living here in our adobe house in the middle of the pecan orchard. We have pounds and pounds of pecans in the freezer, just from the nuts that fell into our yard when the trees were shaken.
Last year, I missed this part of the post-harvest pruning. When everything else is finished, a huge machine with eight really big saws mounted on it comes through and trims the top branches of all the trees. It's a very scary and very loud machine, indeed. It moves down the rows between the trees fairly quickly, and in no time at all the tree branches have all been trimmed.
However, now I understand how all the tops of the trees are so even and pyramid-shaped.
For photos looking up at various things and into the sky, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.
I've never seen anything like that. It would make a great prop in a horror movie.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the loudness of it. Probably like those wind blowers they use in the city x 100. Yikes! I hate loud noises like that, but I guess it is more cost effective & efficient that way... and the trees will be ready for the next season. If you have too many Pecans, you can always send some to Santa Fe~
ReplyDelete:)
Yogi, that's exactly the way the thing struck me, horrifying.
ReplyDeleteBecky, some folks were out in the orchard, gleaning pecans that had been left behind by the harvesters. I ran out and begged them to take a bag of mine.
Imagine, having too many pecans! Before we lived here I have paid several dollars for a tiny bag at the grocery store just to make a skimpy pecan pie. They tell us that the prices are at an all time high this year--$3.00 a pound, still in the shell! Believe me, at that point, the work has only begun!
I agree with both you and Yogi it is scary looking!! And I can just imagine the noise! Gorgeous sky and colors though! Hope your week has gone well! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
How cool is that? I'll never look at a pecan orchard in the same way again.
ReplyDeleteThat red sky picture on your header is so beautiful. I would go "nutz" with all those pecans to put in recipes! Lucky woman! I learned something, too, about the tree trimming.
ReplyDeleteNeato-o! Sure can't imagine doing that by hand!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting experience and images are beautiful.
ReplyDeletewhat a racket that must make...my dog would loose her mind!!! The sunset image is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteScariest gizmo I've ever seen, too. I've seen and heard lots of chain saws, the kind they use to massacre trees in British Columbia, but this thing is bizarre.
ReplyDeleteAnd if my husband finds out about those pecans, we might end up living there, too.
-- K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Very nice, very pretty! =)
ReplyDeleteHappy SWF! =)
It is scary indeed and very noisy. Love your photos. Great shots.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen such a machine for tree trimming! Very interesting!
ReplyDelete(x) My post is at http://gokyuzundenmanzaralar.blogspot.com
I think I saw these machines in a James Bond movie years ago. I didn't know that was why so many orchards around here are of such uniform height.
ReplyDeleteWow I didn't know there is a machine for that. Great shot!
ReplyDeleteWinter sky
Great skies Clairz.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year.
That is one mighty chain saw,my husband wants one.!!
ReplyDeleteWe have so many trees that are obstructing the view of the mountain that pruning them would be the answer.
Who would've known? Thanks again for showing me something new. That is a scary looking contraption!
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have all of those pecans. Yum. :)
I'm curious about your place and wonder if you have posted photos of it. I guess I'm going to have to surf your blog to find out. Is this picture an activity in your orchard? It's quite an amazing operation, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteKate, we like to think of it as "our" orchard, since it surrounds our property on three sides, but it belongs to someone else. In the year we have lived here we have watched the annual cycle of the pecan trees and have observed, with interest, the processes of orchard cultivation and all the many steps of the pecan harvest. I can certainly say that it's no wonder that pecans are so expensive with so much work and equipment involved.
ReplyDeleteThe trees overhang our little piece of land, so it's a treasure hunt out there, finding pecans before the dogs do!
And Laura, this is such a peaceful place to live, surrounded by trees, especially in the middle of the desert--our own little oasis, with a view of the mountains as well. However, during certain stages of the harvest it is wildly noisy and dusty. When the tree shakers come to knock the nuts off, everything in our house shakes just like in an earthquake--three sustained rolls of vibrations per tree. It sets our teeth on edge after a bit.
That is pretty cool, never seen anything like it. I LOVE pecans, they are probably my absolute favorite food! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them... It would be like heaven to live in a pecan orchard... other than the "earthquakes" during harvest season. That would be draining.
ReplyDeleteOur new rental in TX has a supposedly 200-yr old Pecan tree in the yard. Can't wait for next year's harvest!
Gosh, you must feel like you are in a different world out there. Very, very beautiful, just different.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool to know how things work, and extra cool to have pecans falling into your yard!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sunset shot there, too!