There's an apple tree in the field that we planted in 1980 when we first moved here. We bought it from Stark Brothers, and it was not cheap. Neither of us made a lot of money then because I was just getting started with Ma Bell, but we decided to invest in the future. This tree did not let us down. But the last year or two, it began to show its age. Woodpeckers love the beetles the peck from the bark, and their relentless pecking left some of the branches pocked with holes and as a result, they weakened.

This year, two of the larger branches gave up the fight and collapsed under the weight of the apple harvest.

It still has a lot of beautiful apples left this year, but before next year, I'll need to rent a lift and do some serious pruning, and I'm not sure it will survive.

We've already planted younger apple trees to take its place, but they have big baskets to fill.
The apples will be ready to pick in a few weeks, and we'll enjoy them while they last. Some of our friends may be disappointed this year because we won't have as many to share.

On another note, we played again today at a small community festival. Our bookings had been thin, but then we booked four in one day.

I hope you've had a delightful weekend so far and you have a restful Sunday.
[null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.rickwatson-writer.com/2016/09/apple-news.html", "unformatted_src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HFle2_W1iro/V93mYeWp0WI/AAAAAAABF4k/icvpJscnQIQz7VsvQGzPRuvRbpXqk3nsQCEw/s400/ApplePie2016.jpg", "src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HFle2_W1iro/V93mYeWp0WI/AAAAAAABF4k/icvpJscnQIQz7VsvQGzPRuvRbpXqk3nsQCEw/s400/ApplePie2016.jpg", "formatted_filename": "ApplePie", "rendered_width": 300, "rendered_height": 400}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.rickwatson-writer.com/2016/09/apple-news.html", "unformatted_src": "//lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZdN7wahtWbg/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAATaA/dtqOuWO2JU0/s80-c/photo.jpg", "src": "http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZdN7wahtWbg/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAATaA/dtqOuWO2JU0/s80-c/photo.jpg", "formatted_filename": "photo", "alt_text": "My photo", "rendered_width": 80, "rendered_height": 80}, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.rickwatson-writer.com/2016/09/apple-news.html", "unformatted_src": "//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png", "src": "http://assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png", "formatted_filename": "PinExt"}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null]