It was zero at dawn and soared to 30+ by early afternoon. I felt like running through the orchard in barefeet. (I resisted.) Todd came over, and we looked at lists of high-priority apples that we need to examine before spring pulls us outside and the winter indoor-season comes to its inevitable conclusion. We also “attended” a zoom planning meeting for Maine Apple Camp. Get it on your calendar now! It’s the last weekend of August. You need to be there.

Today’s priority apples—with provisional names—include Sunnyside Yellow Netted, Garden Sweet (prov), Remick Sweet and Doucette #1 (There are several Doucettes, all interesting.) Sunnyside Yellow Netted may be the local cultivar, “President.” Doucette #1 may be another local cultivar, “Prospect Greening.” Garden Sweet (prov) was apparently collected from the wrong tree. It’s the modern British Columbia cultivar, Spencer. Good tasting but dull. (McIntosh x Golden Delicious.) Remick Sweet is a seedling of the French bittersweet cider apple, Bedan. Bedan seedlings were shipped over from Normandy and used as rootstocks. The Remick tree is the second full sized, old Bedan seedling we’ve found. Presumably Seneca Remick’s original graft never took—or maybe he just wanted to see what they’d get if they grew it out. It’s a true spongy, low-acid, bittersweet that I will certainly graft up at Finley Lane. The yellow ground color is an interesting, dull, mucky-dirty-mustard-yellow. I love that color!