Winter in DC is the time to prune trees

Brr! It was cold last weekend but I went to a elm tree pruning workshop organized by Casey Trees anyway. They described it as a structural pruning class but since it was set at the National Park Service elm tree nursery and all of the examples were elms it is really an elm tree pruning class.

Then I was frozen solid (did I mention I biked there?) so I stopped in and visited Megan and Saúl and warmed up with several cups of hot tea.

Things I learned at the workshop:

• NPS works hard to grow American elm trees to maintain and replace the rows of elms on the Mall. 
• They can slow Dutch Elm Disease down a lot by constant vigilance and removal of infected branches when they leaf out in the spring. 
• Elm trees grow fast when young and need aggressive pruning the first eight years to set them up with proper shape for a healthy and attractive life. 
• A 2% solution of isopropyl alcohol is the best disinfectant for cleaning pruning tools between trees. I was glad to learn that because I hate using bleach solution--I think it rusts the tools and I always seem to get bleach spots on my clothes. 
• Oil your pruning tools occasionally so they slide through the wood easier. 

Here's some pictures of January in the District.

Looking across the Potomac at my neighborhood

Ice on the Potomac

Up the river to Rosslyn and Memorial Bridge

There's the Washington Monument

Sunset from my bedroom window

The tip of the Washington Monument is behind a building in the center right of the picture if you look closely

Then I made empanadas with a bean filling and a coconut oil crust

I like the way the coconut oil worked in the crust although I think it would go better with a sweet filling rather than a savory one

Cooking the pumpkin puree to dry it out

I need minimally wet pumpkin goop to make good pumpkin gnocchi