Old Tree, New Life

Apple Blossom, April 2011, Magdalena, NM

The tree that is giving us the budding blossom above (and many more) is a gnarly old thing that has been hacked up over the years as limbs have died off, and by all rights probably should have been taken out years ago. She bears little tart Macintosh-type apples, and last fall I made applesauce with some of them, thinking her days were numbered. But she's back again, having survived even February's zone-3 freeze (we're zone 5 or 6), with all limbs apparently intact this year. So I'm adding her to my new perennial/tree dripline in hopes of getting another canning-worthy harvest this fall. Drip system maintenance and extension will occupy me most of today since it is sunny and less windy than in recent days; it sounds boring and can be a bit tedious but it also gets me outside with my plants and the sun and birds and kitties and dog. This year I'll have my camera out there with me, too, so I don't miss tiny moments like this one...