One fruitful apple tree

When we bought our house last year, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. We've had some bad surprises (chimney needs patching, etc.) and some good ones. One of the things I've been especially happy about is the apple tree in the backyard. I cut off a lot of branches in March and this summer the tree has just produced a ton of apples. They're pretty tart; not good for eating raw but perfect for baking. My mom helped us make apple crisp, which we had with vanilla ice cream the other night. Heavenly.

Cora helped Papa get the apples. Since she couldn't reach a lot of them (I couldn't reach a lot of them and had to use a forked stick), she was responsible for putting the picked apples into the bowl. She's so strong--that bowl probably weighed nearly as much as she did! The trunk of the apple tree is visible immediately behind Cora. Also visible is the early evening sun, which unfortunately is what I come home to most nights so Cora and I have less time to play at the neighborhood park. Soon, it will be completely dark when Cora and Papa see each other during the week. :-(