Adam's Apples

Twenty twenty-four was not a typical harvest (and, is there even such of a thing?).  ¶  But it wasn't a bad harvest either, and in any case illustrates the rhythms, the rise and fall, of agriculture (as expressed at my local markets).  ¶  All of the apples for sale, by date, from July to the end of the outdoor markets in November of last year. It's from this spreadsheet . Last year, the apples started in mid-July with Vista Bella , peaking in fat October with 25 apple varieties on a single day, and dwindling to the final 11 the day before Thanksgiving.

Very best New Year's wishes to you, dear readers!  ¶  This busy fall included a healthy 17 "new" (to me) apples , some quite good. I published 23 posts in a single month ( October ).  ¶ I still owe you reports about some of the interesting orchards I visited last fall. Also per annual custom, I'll be applying my

These are small apples, barely bigger than crabs, with a deep red blush (streaky in spots) that covers a dull yellow-green.  ¶  They are mostly tapered and elongated, though there is variation, and are only slightly ribbed. Their shape is a little reminiscent of the larger Black Gilliflower's .  ¶  Swaths of what I think is the thinnest russeting I have ever seen show on small regions of some of these small apples.

The fall equinox is counted as the start of autumn. By that yardstick McIntosh , that icon of fall, is actually a summer apple.  ¶  And lots of other autumn-ish apples too.  ¶  My discomfort with that idea brought me around to thoughts of a special pomological fall . (Some of you pointed out it is not very different from meteorological fall .)  ¶  Now this blog reflects that.

Apple trees slumber in the late December sunshine yesterday at Hutchins Farm in Concord, Massachusetts.

It is not hard to see how this apple got its stellar name.  ¶  The exaggerated ribbing of this small apple pushes its shape beyond pentagon to pentacle, a five-pointed star (though not a very pointy one).  ¶  A more conventional photo follows.