Since I was rambling on about air the other day, I have to mention incorrect information and poetic license. One of my favorite activities of all is contemplating the air I breathe when I’m out in the orchard with the apple trees. It’s like mouth to mouth resuscitation - they breathe out all that amazing oxygen and I breathe it in. I breathe out carbon dioxide, and they’re like, “wow, this is awesome, thanks’’, and they gobble it up. It’s an endless circle, like one of those tape loops in the bizarre music of Steve Reich. Or a skip in an old LP where the same line repeats over and over again ad infinitum. “Will the circle be unbroken?” It’s the ultimate partnership of people and plants.

Despite what I said in my last post, when apple trees are dormant, they really don’t “make” all that much oxygen. The conifers do a bit since they still have their needles. But the concept remains the same: the air has been unbelievable on these cold, raw March days. And we can thank the plants—although not exactly the apple trees at the moment—for making that all possible.

The applesauce has been excellent this week. Still lots of choices. The latest batch included a bittersweet seedling from Penobscot we call Fuel Service. When I re-heated it this morning, I—oops—scorched the bottom. Well, the sauce survived OK and actually caramelized. It was delicious. Lesson of the week: if you burn your sauce, fret not, it may be even better than you hoped.

Meanwhile March, the shortest month of the year, continues to zip by. Blue sky this morning; snow by 5 PM. Bare ground at noon. Winter wonderland by dinnertime. March’ll be over in a wink. Next big moment? Spring! Tomorrow.