While tending the garden beds where we have the beets and carrots, I was looking into the area behind it. It had been part of the plan for this past summer to clean up further into there, and I was thinking of what I might still be able to manage this year, while we have some co-operative weather.
Of course, with the leaves turning, I was seeing all sorts of yellow and reds and…
… reds?
Those aren’t leaves. Those are apples!

Yup. I found another crab apple tree!
It is easily the tallest of any of the crab apple trees we’ve got, including the ones that aren’t buried by other trees. I honestly can’t remember if I’d noticed anything blooming here in the spring, but if I did, I probably thought it was another cherry tree, since there are so many in this area.

It’s not like I could get closer to see. There are at least 3 dead trees that have fallen by it (the leaves in the foreground are cherry suckers, grown from the bases of dead cherry trees). Through the matting of crab grass and various other undergrowth, I can see wood from other dead trees, but not well enough to tell if they are separate trees, or pieces of the ones that I can see more easily.

There is even a big fallen dead branch, stuck in the apple tree! I suspect this one fell during our more recent high winds, though, and was not part of the fallen trees at my feet when I took this photo.
I was able to get around one side and reach a single apple to pick and taste. I notice the apples are a pretty decent size for crab apples. It was sweet, but the texture wasn’t very pleasant. That could be due to the recent frosts, though.
Well, if I do get a chance to start doing some clean up this fall, I know where I plan to work! I want to clean out up to and around this tree, and get that dead branch out. That will open things up and give it more sunlight and space to branch out.
I suspect I will be finding little surprises like this for a few more years as I continue to clean up further into the spruce grove. 😀
The Re-Farmer
Nice. You could get quite a harvest off that one from the looks of it. First you got to grab one of the existing apples and see if they’re any good, then start planning. 😀
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I don’t plan on it for this year. The one I did taste was okay, but I will first focus and clearing access to it! Lol
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Yeah, I was thinking mainly for next year, but first it would help to know that it was producing good fruit. Since you tasted one, you’ve got that covered, and can now plan on lots of Apple Jack for next year. 😀
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I had to look up exactly what apple jack is, compared to the hard cider we are brewing now. Hmm… I don’t know if it’s legal to distill spirits at home, here! Lol
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It’s legal almost nowhere, LOL. It was another Ben Rumpsin joke 🙂
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I got curious and had to look. In Canada, we need a federal permit. That’s all, apparently! 😆
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Technically that’s all it takes in the US also. All the stories about Southern “Moonshiners” were because they didn’t feel they should have to pay taxes on something they were typically making for themselves and maybe a few friends.
Prohibition era bootlegging is a whole different matter obviously. It became BIG money for Capone and others.
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Created a while new world of organized crime, too! 😦
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