Here, in yesterday’s light rain, is a stand of old, gnarly, and “wild” apple trees. They rise desperately out of dense invasive shrubs that have taken over what was their orchard about 100 years ago.
Most of the abandoned apple trees here no longer get the attention and care that apple trees need. Their fruit usually is not harvested; their apples drop in the fall and feed the wildlife or just rot. Yet, at this time of year, these deformed old survivors seem to be remembering more pleasant times, “memories” in the form of thousands of young buds and blossoms of exquisitely delicate beauty.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on May 19 [blossoms] and 21 [trees], 2022.)