It’s yesterday. We’re walking along the edge of a field that we haven’t visited for months, but we’re making our usual mistake: we’re not looking up. We soon realize this, scan the trees, and – much to our pleasure – we see that the wild apple trees are full of good-sized fruit that was not there the last time we passed this way.
By “wild” we mean apples trees that are abandoned. Most of their apples will be eaten by the wildlife -- bear, deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, gulls, and many songbirds.
This fruit originally was fisherman food here. The first Maine apple trees reportedly were brought to Maine in the 16th Century by European fisherman who planted them on the sea islands where the men camped. (Brooklin, Maine)