The Great Kiwi Pruning

Stigma or stamen? Kiwis have gender. Male on the right, female on the left, two additional males with tools in the center. The boy plant gets pruned quite vigorously, since only a few flowers are needed for pollination. To set adequate fruit, the female needs longer branches and many buds. These guys worked in a downpour and got the job done, as you can see in the Extra. You can also see that the sun came out by the afternoon (which helped with melting the snow that fell all around in our hills. Not pictured, since I dared not venture out on the icy roads.)

The other Extra is a fabulous alpenglow sunset seen from our friend's living room. She can watch the whole world from up there. Factoid from another guest: if you follow a straight line out from the last visible point of land (about two thirds of the way from the left in the photo), the first land mass you will encounter will be:  ANTARCTICA!!