Thursday, July 21, 2016

Apple Socks

It's true what they say about seeing more of your neighbors in summertime. We're out in our gardens, weeding, setting out sprinklers, adjusting tomatoes on their trellises; people walking by say hello and may ask "What is that plant? The bees are loving it." And I tell them, "It's honeywort--super easy to grow. Help yourself to seed."

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to bite the bullet and order an entire box of footies. An already tedious task of wrapping each apple, it was worth saving some time and headache cutting up several pairs of pantyhose to have pre-made "socks." I couldn't procrastinate any longer--there were several apples that had frass at the blossom end and along their sides--evidence that coddling moth had already done its damage. I brought out my box of footies and got to work. As I diligently slipped a sock around each apple, trying not to knock them off the tree, people walked by. I'd look up and say hello, but realized they avoided eye contact with me and didn't respond. Others quicken their step which made me think.

Huh...this is odd. No one will talk to me. Why is that? Could it be they think what I'm doing is crazy?


Honeycrisp
Well, no matter. After losing a majority of my apples over various seasons, it's worth spending a couple of summer evenings to prevent those moths from tunneling through my fruit. The task slows me down, allowing me to appreciate the late setting July sun as I think about the crisp delicious Honeycrisp and Nittany apples to come this fall.


Nittany



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