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| OUT-OF-THE-WAY APPLES |
Monday, 7:30 AM. 44 degrees F at the ferry dock, 40 on the back porch. Wind W, calm with light gusts. The sky is overcast and it is raining lightly, off and on. The humidity is 86% and the barometer steady, currently standing at 30.4". Rain is predicted for tomorrow night and Wednesday.
I have a monthly tree board meeting this morning followed by a rehab session in Ashland, so things are hectic.
Every year about this time, after the majority of the tree leaves have been shed, my eye picks out apple trees that are remnants of old orchards or are the result of volunteer seedlings growing up in fence rows and abandoned pastures. The best of these are colorful and laden with fruit, often very unusual in appearance and productivity. The tree pictured was spotted along Old Hwy. K in the Town of Russell. It looks like a yellow transparent from a distance, but the apples are probably hanging on the tree too long for it to be actually that.
I probably should try to get one and see how it tastes. I am sure the apples have been through a hard frost but they do not look affected by it. Some old varieties, like the Spitzenberg, actually needed to be frozen before they were edible.
There are probably many apples out in the countryside well worth propagating, maybe some new champions to be found. This one is the current "apple of my eye."
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