Lemons

Our lemon tree which outgrew the confines of a semi-planter box by the front door has struggled since we moved it to the fire garden. This year, although it hasn't grown much bigger, it has produced a million lemons but they are taking forever to develop and ripen. They're still a bit small, but are no longer rock hard. 

John can't bring himself to prune anything severely, or even cut off a blossom or a fruit even for the good of the plant. I decided that the weight of the lemons was pulling down the rather spindly branches and their numbers might be sapping the strength of the tree as it struggled to develop, so I dashed out between cloudbursts and cut of a lot. Today's picture is the result. I love the combination of yellow and blue and spent more time than I should have playing with the light and the focus. 

A couple of days ago I rather impulsively bought a pdf pattern for a quilted coat. I knew it was probably going to cause technology trauma since  1)our printer never works and  2) I have no idea what to do with a pdf other than open it. The printer, as I suspected, didn't work, but I did eventually figure out that  the pdf pattern ran to 39 pages of ordinary size paper because it is enlarged to full size and the pieces are then taped together. I also figured out how to download the pdf and create a folder for it so I could send it somewhere (probably to poor JIm...we do keep him busy.)  Those who immediately understand what it means when it says,  'now all you have to do is create a folder for your pattern so that you'll always have it'  will laugh at me, but I was rather proud of myself for persisting.

I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't paid $20 for the damn thing. I figured I'd better have an engrossing project to work on for the next four years....