Here peacefully sleeping on this winter day is an ancient apple tree. Of an unknown variety we inherited it with the land when we moved here. It was explained to us by the son of the previous owner that this land was once part of an orchard... and this would be that last of the orchard.
This tree has a special place in my heart. As you may notice it has a pronounced hole in its belly. This makes the tree literally hollow from the ground up! You can stick your head inside and look straight up to the sky. How on earth a tree in this condition can stay alive is amazing. It has housed the nests of birds and in the two autumn seasons we have celebrated here... it has produced good sized eating apples (as you may see in the picture below taken in September of 2009).
While some folks abhor the winter season (and I can't say I am a great fan of the cold), it serves some practical and meaningful purposes. All the verdant beauty has gone, nature is nearly silent, all seems dead, gray and lost. Our warmth is sapped from our souls as even the very sun seems to shy away. But it can never last. As dead and decaying as the ancient apple may seem... it is still full of life. This rest is what helps give it life year after year. In the cold of winter life we can reflect on life which is still abound and will come again as will the sun- just the same as it always has. You cannot truly appreciate something until its not around, and this is the season that helps us remember that. That is the beauty of winter.
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