Prickly Business

The black raspberries are delicious (and I can hardly wait for them to ripen this July!) but they are an unruly bunch.  In order to tame them, I've replanted them and trained them between parallel ropes.  But still, they require pruning and whacking back every year--something I try to do before they start growing new leaves.

This year, due to the heavy snow almost up until the spate of 90 degree weather we've been enjoying the past couple of days, I didn't quite make that cut off.  So yesterday, I pruned off all the over growth and endured the scratches and pricks caused by the errant canes.  It looks much tidier now, but desolate like a cut down forest.  Definitely not picture worthy (unless you like the look of half-chopped sticks with a few green leaves), so let us gaze instead at the berries from last year.  Hopefully, I haven't killed off this year's crop with late pruning!