Poofball
Saturday September 21st 2013, 10:56 pm
Filed under: Family,My Garden,Wildlife

How to tell when your apples are ripe (Googling).

Can’t tell by color.

The apples farthest out on the tree ripen soonest.

Lift one sideways; if it snaps right off, it’s ripe.

So that’s what I waited all day to try.

We had a major downpour for the last day of summer. I have to show you, just because I’ve never seen one poof out quite so much: this one house finch finally shook herself off and went for a dry perch. The birdseed was all over at the feeder she’d just left, but it was somewhat exposed and enough already with this wind and the randomness of water falling out of the sky–since when does it do that? (I wondered if she’d hatched this spring.)

By evening the storm had blown over and I went outside with scissors and a bowl to hold stuff.

I snipped open the tape on the clamshell that held the biggest two apples and a few leaves and one small one in there too, photo above. I carefully, carefully opened it and found to my surprise that there were actually the two big ones and three, count’em three little ones crammed inside. I did thin those, I’m sure, I think there were four each side originally, but there you go.

I lifted the nearest big one to the left and it came right off in my hand. Into the bowl, done.

I lifted its mate to the right. Nuh uh, nothin’ doin’, ain’t lettin’ go.

Oh okay, so, I put the clamshell back on, grabbed the shipping tape out of the bowl next to the apple and sealed the thing back up again. Sorry raccoons, these are still mine.

And I would tell you how the first ripe critter-free Fuji after 21 years’ anticipation finally tastes, except… I waited for the others so I could share the grand moment with them too.

Michelle got home at about ten o’clock. It’s bag night. (Every third night I can’t eat past dinnertime so that I can change the dressing in the morning. It’s a Crohn’s thing.)

The apple. It awaits.

 

 


5 Comments so far
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The apple will be all the sweeter for the waiting!

Comment by Kathy in San Jose 09.22.13 @ 12:33 am

So inquiring minds want to know… How was it? It looks quite lovely.

Comment by Channon 09.22.13 @ 5:18 am

this is awesome — can’t wait to hear about the great tasting party

Comment by bev 09.22.13 @ 8:12 am

And the poor raccoons don’t get none! Sniff!

Comment by Donald Meyer 09.22.13 @ 7:50 pm

If the seeds are still white, my expert friends tell me, the apple isn’t ready yet. (That means you pick just one first, and cut it open.) They turn brown when the fruit is done developing.

Glad you have success at last!

Comment by Marian 09.24.13 @ 12:06 am



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