Leaves on the Red Delicious apple tree I planted more than 30 years ago began developing spots, yellowing, and falling in late June and early July. In addition, a type of slime mold rooted in the large scar where the 2020 derecho blew down a main limb. Called dog vomit slime mold, it colonizes the decaying wood in that gash. The tree is not dead, but seems to be entering end of life behavior after numerous collisions with strong winds and disease.

Over the years, the tree produced a lot of fruit. It provided fresh apples, applesauce, apple butter, apple cider vinegar, apple crisps and other desserts in a way that dominated all the trees planted in the yard. I plan to see if it leafs out in spring 2027, and then if it flowers. There may be one more crop, yet we are on the cusp between living and dying.

When we moved to Big Grove Township, we intended to stay here. That meant planting apples, long a mainstay of my father’s Appalachian culture. I planted six as follows:

When the Red Delicious dies, only the two Earliblaze trees will remain of the original six. That along with 30 years of memories of learning about apples and their lore and doing the long, slow dance of the apples, growing in our lives together.