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Though the sun is shining outside as I write, the threat of even more snow hangs low over us — as low as the clouds that hold that moisture. Yes, we need the moisture, but have you looked around town lately? Lots of landscape plants show damage, victims of the heavy wet snow we had right before New Years.

Prickly pear cacti lie almost flat on the ground, looking like exhausted marathoners who collapse upon crossing the finish line. Heaped broken branches of desert willow, elm, pi¤on and other trees cluster near sidewalks, awaiting disposal. Just today, while visiting the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, I saw several pine trees with dead and dying branch tips. The needles are yellow, even some already brown, but the protected needles underneath the outer layer are fine.

So, what's a person to do about it all? General cleanup is a good place to start. Remove broken branches, pruning back to the main trunk or large branch from which the broken one originates. This column is too short for me to explain good pruning, but I'll refer interested readers to some wonderful Web sites at http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/pruning/. These sites are maintained by Ed Gilman, pre-eminent American arboriculture educator and researcher.

You may want to do some early trimming of last year's growth on bunch grasses. These are often left until later in the year, but the snow weight has collapsed their look and no harm in taking out the dead, fallen stems a bit early.

For those branch tips killed by cold, nothing but time will tell how far back the dieback went, which then determines where to make pruning cuts. Don't be in too much of a hurry to cut, unless your sense of aesthetics won't allow such patience.

For the collapsed cacti, again, time is the factor. Most should regain snap out of it and stand back up as warmer, drier weather returns.

Some other shrubs may not recover quite as well and may remain bent over. Prune those out to good side growth or remove bent shoots entirely - but give them a month or so first to see how they respond. Like people, plants don't recover in a day!

Pop quiz: What is the fastest-growing segment of the global food system? The answer: organic food production.

Many people are becoming aware of the desirability of eating food that has been grown without the use of synthetic chemicals, some of which are persistent toxins in the environment, others of which may negatively impact soil and farm ecosystems. I think this awareness is part of a growing "green" consciousness about the planet and the intricately intertwined systems that support life.