Out-of-Season Cherry Blossoms & Farewell to the Plum Tree Damaged by Kubiakatsuyakamikiri（red-necked longhorn）

I haven’t been able to post on the blog for a while, since recently I’ve been working on the English version of the blog and starting to create a new site. In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, autumn has deepened considerably. Last evening, while taking a walk in the park nearby my house, I discovered cherry blossoms blooming (@_@). This is a cherry blossom, right? It’s fascinating how nature works, with cherry blossoms blooming even though it suddenly feels like autumn.

During the three-day holiday, including Sports Day, I was thinking of challenging a day trip to Kasagatake. However, due to the blizzard in the Northern Alps before the holiday and the weather not being great, I tackled the piled-up housework. How did you all spend your time?

The recent inflation is troublesome. Everything is getting more expensive, putting pressure on household finances. People have been sighing every day in the supermarket.

I used to ask professionals to prune the trees in my garden, but the pruning cost has been increasing year by year. Last year, the finish was a bit rough, so I thought, “Alright, let’s save money with DIY this year!” and tried pruning high branches and other tasks.

The picture shows the plum tree I cut down. Every year, it bore plums, and I made plum wine and pickled plums. However, it seems to have been damaged by an invasive species called Kubiakatsuyakamikiri (a tricky name to pronounce in Japanese, called red-necked longhorn in English). It’s said to be rampant in Osaka. I’ve never seen the actual insect, but it looks like this. 　

When this insect infests, wood shavings come out as shown in the picture, and all the leaves fell off early. So, regrettably, I cut it down with an electric saw.

Someday, I plan to have a bonfire and say, “Thank you for everything, goodbye” to the plum tree.

This time, I purchased an electric hedge trimmer for high branches. After some consideration, I got this trimmer, which seems to be used by professionals as well.

My impression after using it is that it cuts very well. With this, I feel like I don't need to ask a gardener. I know some might say, "It's not that easy," but to cut it into a nice round shape, practice is needed, just like a hairdresser. It's a bit heavy for long-term use, so I need to take breaks, but it's like a substitute for strength training.（^^)
With this, when I see trees in the neighborhood growing wildly, I feel like going around and cutting them. I wish I had bought it sooner.

However, snipping with scissors, buzzing with the electric trimmer, and sweeping up the cut leaves is quite tiring. Gardening is a test of physical strength. After the holiday, I was yawning continuously when I started working. 
See you in the next blog post!