Tiny, hard as rocks, a bit sour, and laborious to preserve.
There are bushels of them!
When the Ash Tree in front of our house was killed by an infestation of Emerald Ash Borers, the tree was felled. Around the stump a variety of shrubs and trees took advantage of the sunny location. The most vigorous of these was an invasive species called Buckthorn. It bore poisonous fruit. Attila removed it, it grew back. Attila removed it every spring for a few years before finally overcoming it completely.
What grew next were to wild apple trees, volunteers. Two unknown varieties, probably from seeds left by mice, squirrels, or birds. This year one of the two trees is laden with tiny little apples. Attila wanted to leave them, as they represent a lot of labour for very little result.
However, me being me, I could not just ignore them. I asked Attila to harvest some of them, and today I am experimenting with how to process them into an edible product for our pantry.
I was going to use the Nesco roaster, plugged in on the back porch. But Attila is using that electrical outlet to dehydrate basil, and lettuce leaves. In order not to interfere with his project, I opted for using the steam juicer to cook the apples on the range in the kitchen, and make a little bit of apple juice as well. The blossom end of each apple was removed, then they were placed in the steam juicer, stems and all.
The plan is to put the cooked apples through the manual food mill. Attila has volunteered to tackled this task. The electric food mill would handle them without issues, but it is a very big deal to get that machine setup, and cleaned after use. So the manual food mill will be tried first, as the least laborious of the two options.
Attila continues to bring produce in from the garden daily. The tomato yield is very high. I canned four one litre jars of tomato sauce from garden tomatoes yesterday. Three sealed, one did not, due to my having put the band on improperly. It went into the refrigerator, and will be used to make dinner tonight, spaghetti with meat sauce.
Today Mom returned to the hospital just down the street from her apartment, the same village where my sisters reside. This will be easier for everyone, and one step closer to home for Mom. I just got a text message from Mom, she is settling in, and doing great!
Attila was approved for the Canada Dental Plan when he retired in the first months of 2024. He had extractions which were covered by the plan, and was looking forward to having dentures. To our surprise the coverage was suddenly denied, and he was warned he might have to pay for the work that had been done, and with no coverage going forward he was without teeth. That was in December of 2025. The documentation to prove this termination of dental coverage was inappropriate was sent in early January 2026.
Today a letter arrived to inform him that his coverage has been reinstated, and that the cost of his former work is covered as well. What a relief this is!
Lots of good news!
Before
After
Worldly
Weather
20°C
Date: 7:00 PM EDT Thursday 17 September 2026
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.0 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 20.1°C
Dew point: 17.2°C
Humidity: 83%
Wind: NNW 5 km/h
Humidex: 26
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“If you would stand well with a great mind, leave him with a favourable impression of yourself; if with a little mind, leave him with a favourable impression of himself.”
Taylor Coleridge
1772 – 1834
This could be why so many people are such hard work to be around!
It’s amazing what a little paint can do for a set of steps. They’re still steep but they just seem more pleasant.
Do let us know the results of your wild apple experiments!
Most importantly, congratulations on a good result with the dental snafu. Once again, Maggie, your persistence has paid off. Here’s hoping Attila gets his dentures soon and that they fit well on the first go.
Thanks for all your good wishes Wendy!
The stairs were so horrible when we bought Mist Cottage that we felt the stairs in the before picture were a great improvement, now they are even better. They are quite steep, and luckily there is a very sturdy hand rail. I take these stairs very carefully, they demand respect.
Still making decisions about the apple sauce and the apple juice, for now they are in the refrigerator.
I was shocked when the letter about the Dental Plan arrived in the mail today. I was expecting a long drawn out conflict with the government over this. Conflict averted! The denturist Attila has chosen is excellent, so he anticipates a very good result.