# Pulling Earth #10: Apple tree pruning whimsy

By [Pulling Earth](https://paragraph.com/@pulling-earth) · 2022-02-17

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![Winter apple tree. Feb 13, 2021.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8e11b9d6bff1f8edc951665b5d6ebbf3a100653f83205793ac8ed2ca8d01879e.jpg)

Winter apple tree. Feb 13, 2021.

_Previously posted on_ [_pullingearth.substack.com_](http://pullingearth.substack.com)_. Dec 1, 2021._

I’m hiding inside, in the warmth, peering through the window to sketch today. My subject is a small apple tree. There is snow on the ground and only a few leaves remain. The scene feels barren. Cold. But still, the snow sparkles in the sun. I am drawn to the tree's architecture – so many little branches. They feel whimsical in their multitude, so I try to be whimsical too. With my pencil. Keeping my wrist loose and free. My hope is that the whimsy will overcome my uncertainty about how to sketch this snowy landscape.

My mind wanders to pruning this sapling before me. I imagine thinning out the branches on the page, making room for growth. I enjoy the exercise of shaping and willing this little tree into focus. Then I press my pencil hard on the branch edges. There needs to be some certainty.

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*Originally published on [Pulling Earth](https://paragraph.com/@pulling-earth/pulling-earth-10-apple-tree-pruning-whimsy)*