Adam's Apples

I've got two of these, medium and large, pale yellow-green with small faint peach blush. They are round, with flattened tops and bottoms, those of the larger one especially so.  ¶  Flyspeck and a few small bruises join many filled grey lenticels decorating the peel. They do not come from a big industrial orchard. These apples have a lovely sweet aroma.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE ?  Mislabeled apples at Arlington's farmers market on September 9.  ¶  Quite a radical design departure today for Apple Computer (which spells its desktops "Macintosh"). Where's the USB port? If this had been only a hand-lettered sign....  I should not complain, I guess, the point is McIntosh (bonus: spelled right!) is here. Be glad! But it shakes one's faith in farmers.

There are some great farmers markets near me, and in season they are the source of most of the fruit I eat. You never know what new apples, or old favorites, might show up there.  ¶  All of the apples for sale, by date, from July to the end of the outdoor markets in November of 2024. It's from this spreadsheet .  ¶  For the past few years I've reported regularly (with a few gaps) about all of them. It is kind of thrilling to track the harvest as it unfolds, and to feel through that the solemn turning of the year from summer to winter.

The Boston Globe, anticipating pomological fall , on Wednesday published a two-paged guide to some of New England's most interesting orchards and apple experiences.  ¶  Cider donuts too, of course.

This handsome apple blushes deep red, at its most saturated as dark as any Arkansas Black or Black Oxford .  ¶  It is decorated with many small light lenticel dots, and the unblushed portion is streaky over yellow.  ¶  Soluna is sightly tapered and slightly ribbed, firm in hand with a pleasant fruity aroma.

There's an orchard near me that takes an interest in apples that are still in development (and may never graduate to wider cultivation).  ¶  These generally have names like "WA 38" (which you know as Cosmic Crisp ) or "NY 428" (which you probably do not know at all).  ¶  My local grower, for example, got its hands on one of these and, since it did not have what you might call a name, called it "Early Jonagold." (It later got fully commercialized as Autumn Crisp.  ¶  ) It also sold Early Spy and Early Macoun that were not these named apples picked early, but something else.  ¶  So when I found "Early Crimson Crisp" there this week, I had to ask: is this another unofficial nickname for an uncommercialized apple, or is "early" just an adjective describing the true Crimson Crisp?