Steppin' Out

Every year I say I am going to be more aggressive in pruning the roses. And I am, maybe by about a quarter of an inch. I cut back to buds, but when you have those old gnarly grey canes without any good bumps on them, what do you do? I've worked my way through most of the small bushes, but still have to tackle the climbers. This has nothing to do with the egret, except that I'm glad I found him this morning since I'm way too tired now to go looking for anything. He reminds me of Fred Astaire ready to go out on the town.