In January, when maple trees are leafless and dormant, I venture out with my clippers to do some pruning. Professional nurserymen and gardeners doubtless have precise notions about  pruning. I don’t. I just stand back, peer at the maple for a few moments and then clip away. My objective is modest: I seek to make the tree appear neater and more comely. So I clip branches that are dead or distorted, or which seem out…