Kleine Äpfel

I found myself at the local Safeway admiring little apples and reflecting. Growing up I rarely enjoyed apples. It seems that the size of them simply prevented me from finishing them or, if I would finish them, I’d get that full bloated feeling that only eating a one pound apple can give. Which was odd because I loved oranges, apples, grapes, you name it. If it had a seed in it I’d eat it by the truckload.

Last Autumn while in traveling with Ginevra, Jenny and Chris through Europe I solved my apple dilemma. We were all staying with German Jenny at her Parents house, Jenny and Chris in the trailer in the front yard and Ginevra and I in the houddie* in the backyard. The backyard was littered with apple trees. These trees however weren’t your average commercial grade trees bred and enhanced to produce massive perfect Barbie apples. These were just plain old, drop-a-seed-in-the-ground-and-see-what-comes-up apple trees. And what came up were apple trees that bore small, sometimes unshapely, little apples. So small that you might need to eat half a dozen to feel full. And they were perfect. I took to filling my pockets with these apples from off the ground like some sort of prehistoric hunter-gather, and snacking on them as we traveled around the region taking in the sights. Natures first power bar, er, power orb. Small, filling and delicious.

Back at Safeway I was staring at these usually small apples on sale, reflecting on those apples and that time in Germany. I bought a pound and a half and filled my pockets on the way home.


*I dunno how it’s spelled but it’s like a shack, albeit a well developed one, with plumbing and all. We might think of it as a mother in alw unit.