Pruning

A couple weeks ago, we noticed that our "lemon" tree had a lot of brown branches and yellowed leaves. It was close to death. For some odd reason, this very special lemon tree produces limes, which bring new meaning to the idiom- when life hands you limes, make limeade (or margaritas or gin and tonics!). So, with a pair of kitchen scissors, I did some major pruning of the tree. Today I noticed many small new green leaves and a few tiny purple buds; it's alive!

I wonder if my empirical paper needs to be pruned and focused to enable and reveal its gems that may have faded into the background...I think part of the writing process involves expansion but there is a time and place for trimming.