Skylar and I picked apples much of the day, including Frostbite (MN 447), Redfield, Tolman Sweet, Hubbardston Nonesuch, MN 1734 (aka Minnesota Russet) and Melody Maker. These are the first of the keepers that should store well in the root cellar into late winter or even spring. Next week it will be time to pick the long-term keeping apples, the true heavy hitters in the storage department.

The foliage on our twenty-five year old Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) tree has turned its fall yellow. I found the tree at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens growing in the composted innards of a huge, old, hollow crabapple tree. It was one of a couple of tiny, young seedlings that probably had been tucked away by an industrious squirrel who intended to come back later for a Ginkgo meal but got distracted. I liberated it from its dark hideaway, gently wrapped the roots in wet newsprint and brought it home. Now it’s about 20 feet tall. Sometime soon, all the leaves will flutter to the ground in a single day (or maybe two). This morning the entire tree was glowing an electric, psychedelic, golden-yellow as the sun rose and began to shine through the white pines.