I walked out the front door a few days ago in the evening, and the setting sun was making the tiny crabapples on my tree glow and sparkle. I ran back in to get the camera!

This is a Prairiefire crabapple. Sometimes I’ve called in Prairie Fire, but I think the proper name is one word. These fruit are “persistent,” meaning they stay on the tree well into the winter. The birds eat some of them. There are even some left in the spring, when the robins return.? These are a nice small ornamental tree. They’ve been in the ground for seven years, but they’re still only 10′ tall or so, with a spread of about 15′. They have great flowers in the spring, too. Click here to see some photos from spring 2007.

A few more shots from the other day: