Two days ago, the twins and I picked all the Jonathan apples, except two or three still on the tree. This is early for them to be ripe, but several more fell off the tree in the previous few days, and I decided they must be ripe enough. They taste great — perhaps slightly tart, but I think they’re quite ripe. A few had bird damage, and some have worm holes — we’ll slice those ones and throw away the damaged parts.

I think they might have ripened early because of slight water stress. I think the tree’s roots have outgrown the little drip irrigation emitter, and perhaps it wasn’t getting enough water. I tried to soak it with the hose, but I really only remembered to do that probably three times in the past two months.

I made an apple pie on Sunday from these apples, and it was tasty. I think I’ll look for a more “whiz-bang” recipe, though, since this pie recipe is just a classic grandma-style apple pie. I think there are some cooler ones out there, perhaps with caramel or something else to make it a smoother flavor.