The dates season really begins early in the year when we clean up the trees after the end of the dormant period. At this time, we have to start by cutting the thorns off of the dates fronds. They say that everything in the desert protects itself by stinging, biting, or poking. And the dates trees are no different. They have thorns that are approximately 4 to 5 inches long, and can easily pierce thru a truck tire. So the very first thing we do is to remove the thorns to make it possible to work in the dates trees.