Did someone say apples?

 

 

 

 

 

Got apples? 

 

We have what was originally supposed to be a dwarf Jonathan apple tree that was planted 50 years ago.  Jonathan apples are an older variety, good for both eating and cooking if you like a tart tasting apple.  It is no longer a dwarf tree!  Bob has been carefully tending it for several years now.  He pruned it so the branches would hang down and make it easier to pick the fruit.  We get apples each year but never as many as this year.  Also, since he has been taking special care to stop apple maggot infestations (notoriously bad in western Washington) and apple scab, these apples are pretty on the outside and gorgeous on the inside, no worms.  

 

 

Very pretty! 

After a dry summer it finally started raining a couple of weeks ago.  With some help from the local squirrels and birds, the rain and wind are knocking the apples off the tree.  We decided we better pick them even if some were still a little green.  The “almost completely ripe” apples make good applesauce and pie filling.  Two of our 13 grandchildren live in the area and had asked if they could come help harvest the apples.  They came on Saturday and we picked 3 boxes two layers deep.  The next day we picked another equal amount for a two day total of about 320 apples.  There were still about that many left on the tree! 

 

We ended up with about 3 times this many apples.
 

These boxes have the results of the second picking, single layer.  All of the boxes went into the garage to stay cool.  So far, we have made and frozen two pie fillings and 7 batches of applesauce, 3 with sugar & spices—cinnamon and nutmeg, and 4 with just a small amount of sugar.  We shared, delivery included, with friends and neighbors.  Bountiful harvest indeed.

 

Bob finished picking the last 25 or so apples.  We ended up with 16 boxes of apples.  The grand total of this year’s crop—will be between 500-600 apples!!!  Unbelievable.