Today I went on an all-day pomological excursion. First stop was to Winthrop to drop off some old wooden barrels at Absolem cider. We haven’t used them in years, and it was time to move them along. Maybe they’re reusable or maybe they’ll make great decorations or beverage tables. Absolem is one of the farm to table places that have sprung up in Maine in recent years. We’ve been several times and always had fun. Highly recommended if you’re anywhere near Winthrop.

Next stop, Morris Towle’s old orchard just down the road from Absolem. Morris Towle was a mailman and apple collector in the mid-twentieth century. Sadly we never met, but I learned about him from multiple sources. He was instrumental in saving a number of historic Maine apples. I’ve been to his orchard a few times over the years and have a copy of his orchard map. Today the current owner, Dereck Glaser, showed me several trees that had fruited for the first times since he’s owned the place. One is particular is of great interest. It had only one fruit left which is now safely in my cooler. Time to get out the books.

I left Dereck and drove slowly the back way to Brunswick looking for old trees. I found a beautiful orchard in Bowdoin. Although most of the apples were on the ground (It’s been windy), the fruit was in good shape, and I was able to identify all the trees: two massive Baldwins, one King of Tompkins County, several Macs, one Wolf River and two Ben Davis. Nothing too out of the ordinary but really beautiful.

A few miles later, still in Bowdoin or maybe Topsham, I found what I was looking for. A huge, ancient, fence-line tree with fruit. I stopped and was able to retrieve a few of the last fruit. (Half the canopy was in the cow pasture so I declined hopping the fence.) Could this be the long-lost Givens apple we’ve been searching for?

The big event of the day was leading an afternoon apple tasting in Harpswell for about thirty adventurous tasters, sponsored by Harpswell Heritage Apples. It was held in an old, open, very drafty barn, and everyone was bundled up. I selected 15 cultivars ranging from roadside seedlings to famous historic favorites to modern introductions with every flavor profile I could muster from sweet to tart and everything in between. I had fun, and I think the chilly apple tasters did as well. It was a good day all around.