Big fat tease

The supermarket apples are marvels of sturdy durable sweetness, but lets face it. They get old, and by the time the apple harvest begins I am really ready for something tart and local.

The morning suns shines down on an apple earlier today at Nagog Farm in Littleton, Massachusetts.

Imagine, then, how pleased I was when eatable fruit showed up at Farmers Market on the eleventh of this month, the earliest I can remember.

These Vista Bellas were not strictly speaking ripe, but they made a joyful noise in my mouth anyway.

But the next week there were no apples anywhere. So I made a point to get myself to Lexington's market yesterday, only to find the market shutting down three hours early for fear of extreme weather.

(That may require some explanation: A week ago neighboring Arlington was hit by a microburst that felled many large trees and damaged a lot of property. Fortunately no one was hurt, but it was a scary prospect.)

One farmer, who had traveled more than an hour to get there, had Vista Bellas all packed away and inaccessible. I felt like the donkey chasing the (perpetually elusive) carrot.

So I was pleased today to be able to buy some Lodi apples at Arlington's weekly market. There were early-mac-type apples for sale too.

Let's hope for an apple harvest without further interruptions. I get hungry this time of year.