The Incredible Shrinking Apple Tree

Yesterday was apple tree pruning time. (This was actually the event that led us to start the blog in the first place. Every year, I go out and stare at the apple tree, desperately trying to remember what it is that should be accomplished by this exercise in woodsmanship. So this year, we are documenting the process so that next year I will just read the blog and be ready to hack and slash.)

The before picture:

The goal was to curb the horizontal spread of the tree, because some of the main limbs were getting dangerously long, and to bring the top of the tree down within reach of a fruit picking pole. I sketched it thusly:

The results:

There are still some places that are too tall, but I couldn't really cut them without being able to levitate. (We keep telling the Proto-vet to learn to fly, but she has not been obliging so far.)