The Year of the Ice Apple

 Apples remaining on the Bitter Red Tree after earlier harvesting. 

Bishops Mills, along Buker Road, 19 January 2017.

This winter, many Apple trees have held their fruit long after it would have fallen in any other year. 

In November we were still bringing in apples from our own wild trees "out back" which were still good and firm, their sweetness having resisted many nights of freezing temperatures. 

We sliced the good parts away from the cores and ran them through the food dehydrator until we had two gallon jars full of sweet leathery pieces, some of which are dark and crisp, shattering between our teeth in an instant burst of rich apple flavour.