The Apples Are Ripe. Time To Pick 9/3/2019

Good Morning,

I woke up and I always say "it is more than I deserve". Today I will be dodging a few storms on my way to work according to the weather forecast. My fresh cup of Door County Mocha Mint Coffee will help get this day started.

Ecclesiastes 11:1  Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days it shall return to you.

Yesterday I took a short walk out to the back yard and surveyed our apple trees. The apples are nowhere near as plentiful as they were last year, but they look pretty good and have ripened enough to pick them. We will save some for making apple pies and apple sauce and we will still have plenty to give away. just not as much as we had last year. They are in a down cycle, and the Polar Vortex of January did not help these old trees. It also didn't help that I was laid up after knee surgery and couldn't do the annual pruning. A late frost also claimed many apple blossoms. The apple trees had the deck stacked against them. But as always there are some apples to eat. God has blessed our trees for 25 years now. It seems as if they are part of the family.

Many people have dined on the bounty provided by the trees over the years, including members of our church, neighbors, friends, and a homeless shelter or two. One delivery of apples will be to the assisted living home near our house. They make apple pastry for the residents and it is a pleasure to share with those who are pretty much shut in.

The trees will get a serious pruning this year and plenty of tree food.  They will be put to rest properly and with care. We hope to be able to count on them for another year in 2020.

The first year that we had lots of apples we dedicated to sharing what we have and show God's blessings to others. We were given packages of fresh fish this weekend from a friend and my wife Rene and I remarked that the gifting of apples always seems to return to us. It is very true that you cannot out give God. We don't do it to be blessed. We do it out of love for God and share His love with others.

We sure enjoy these apple trees and are thankful for the spring blossoms and the fruit that comes later. So if you have been blessed with a bounty please share with others, You learn more about God and His blessings when you do.

May God bless you all today.

Marty