Japanese Weeping Cherry & Other Stuff

Several years ago, I purchased a "dwarf" Japanese Weeping Cherry for my back yard. Said "dwarf," which should have stayed at about 6'-8' high, is now approximately 25' high, due, no doubt, to lack of proper pruning. I've been rather disappointed in that since it was planted, it has never had very many blooms --- until this year!  I was thrilled to look out my kitchen window earlier this week to see the limbs literally covered in blossoms, from the tippy-top to the ends of the drooping branches, which almost touch the ground.

In trying to determine what could have caused it to blossom so beautifully, I came to the conclusion that it was the removal of several tall trees (the Raccoon Caper) from the west side of the yard. These must have been blocking the proper amount of sunlight required by this particular specimen. I can't think of anything else that has happened, environmentally speaking, that would have caused the change.

Below is a closer look at one of the blossom clusters. I love this pink!

This is my first full post since coming back online, and I've found that Blogger has changed somewhat. New options keep popping up, and I have to stop to view my choices.  I'll get used to the changes, I'm sure, and will eventually think they are just peachy-keen but, right now, they are simply distractions.

I've also discovered that I need to find the software for and reinstall my antique Photoshop Elements. I forgot how much I relied on it to resize my photos, something I haven't figured out how to do in Picasa. I tend to not try to learn more than I must to accomplish a specific task, a short-coming which keeps me in a perpetual learning mode.

Other stuff: While my computer was away, I finally tackled the enormous amount of paper I had allowed to build up (read:take over) in my office space. I've cleaned out nine book shelves, directly recycled about 500 pounds of non-sensitive, out-of-date materials and, for the past several days, have spent hours sorting through boxes of other papers which contain sensitive information and must be shredded. I've previously admitted to being a paper pack-rat, but I didn't realize until the last few weeks the sheer amount of stuff I've allowed to accumulate.  Nearly all of what I've been going through could and should have been eliminated years ago. Now, almost every piece of it has to be examined and either shredded or sorted into "office paper" or "mixed paper" before it can be taken to the recycling center.

I've actually found some things in the overwhelming stash that I want to keep, at least for a while, some of which I'll share with you as I need post fodder.