One Singular Sensation

It's been a very tough growing season for apples here.  In fact, most trees in my region were completely bare.  Considering all the variables that need to be in place to produce any fruit, I consider every one a miracle. We had record high temperatures very early.  Buds popped and promptly froze a week later.  So I was delighted to see a total of 6 apples developing on my tree.  Well, 6 became 3 as the tree let go of what wasn't viable.  And 3 became 1 thanks to some combination of birds, deer, and hungry local opossums, raccoons, porcupines, and/or skunks.  So yesterday, anticipating the coming drop in temperatures, I went out to the tree to pick this one singular sensation!

It was so high up on the tree that I had to drive my pickup truck in under the tree and stand on the roof of the cab to reach it.  It was only one apple, but oh, so worth it!

I have no idea what variety of apple this tree produces; it was many owners before me who planted the tree, but I love the taste of the apples: tangy, sweet/tart.  And I like the texture of crisp, yet not too hard.  I always cherish and save these exclusively for eating.

So this year, I am truly grateful for this one apple.  And also grateful that I had the foresight to can quarts and quarts of applesauce last year when every variety of apple was extremely abundant, especially the old wild tree nearby that occasionally gives generous amounts of applesauce apples freely to anyone willing to offer the time and energy to pick them.