Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Apple Knot

If I was a professional arborist, I'd probably have a technical name for this bulging area in one of our back apple trees, but for right now, I'll just call it an apple knot. Pretty much, all my life I've grown up around wild apple trees. We have six on our property here, and back on Stevens Avenue we had plenty. Three in straight away centerfield of our homemade diamond in the backyard. If you hit it over those, it was an automatic homerun. No questions asked. Skipper and Leo each did it once, as my memory recalls. There were countless others too scattered about the back fields, that provided ammo at a moment's notice for our homemade applecasters. Stick a small crabapple on the end of a sturdy, but flexible, thin branch, and you were in business. It was all about our apple wars! Whip your stick fast at an opposing buddy in the brush nearby, and it was 'ouch time'. Boy, if you got hit right, they could sting.
Yes, apple wars. They were entertaining as all get-out. 

10 comments:

  1. Those apple wars sound violent and painful. Fantastic textures in this knot, or whatever it's really called.

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  2. This apple tree must be very old to have such a knot ! What a texture!

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  3. we had an apple tree, a crab apple tree and a plum tree in our farmyard in wisconsin. the green plums were PAINFUL!

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  4. You've made me think of the orchards back in my hometown of Quincy. They produced the best apple cider I've ever tasted.

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  5. Crab apple wars for me growing up. Ahhhh....such good memories.

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  6. Applecasters and apple wars. All new to me. You boys were CRAZY.

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  7. Wood always has such great texture and design.

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  8. But you could put someone's eye out!

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  9. Much better than video games! Mr. Hudson's apple tree across the street was a key character in my childhood neighborhood play. Nothing more satisfying that climbing an apple tree...unless it is having apple wars, I guess...we had more "snowball wars"...oouch....... than apple wars :o)

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  10. A very artsy shape and form.

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