Old Farm Apples

Here’s a little break from the spooky posts this month. There are several apple trees growing wild on the edges of the park next door. The fruit of these trees is always wormy looking, although this year, one that grows in a row of brambles and trees behind an old 1800’s farmhouse and barn in the park, bore apples that were so red we were tempted to grab a few. The ones close at hand were full of holes though, so we just admired the colors until they dropped from the tree.

There is another apple tree that isn’t on my walking route, but I found it the other day when my dog and I veered from the beaten path. It’s not too far away from the barn and it’s an old thing, which leads me to think that the farm utilized its apples. It was still full of fruit. I found one that was sound and tasted it – tart, but good. There were a few wormy ones, but it looked like there were lots of sound apples too. I came back to it yesterday with hubby, doggie, bushel basket and apple picker in tow. We managed to gather about half a bushel of what looked like sound apples. It was a little less than that after sorting out the bad ones. Today I turned the hale and hardy ones into apple jelly and apple butter.


Many of those apples would have rotted on the ground. A few would have been nibbled on by deer and other critters, but I think it’s very satisfying to harvest what might have gone to waste and turn it into something to be enjoyed. We’ll send some out with Christmas gifts and keep the rest to enjoy over the coming months.

I’ll leave you with these pictures of my calendula (click on them for an eye-popping treat):

They're still blooming despite the frosty mornings: