The neighbor’s old apple trees still produce fruit

I love the ruggedness of old fruit trees, a favorite for the apple, with its bright red apples shining through the green leaves and aging rough trunks . Through the late fall months after the leaves have fallen to the ground the apples remain on the dry brittle twisting branches with lichen and moss appearing on a few branches. The contrast is striking and makes me wonder how a tree appearing to be dying with open hallow gaps in the trunk can continue to produce fruit. With the center core rotted, how can the nutrients reach the demanding branches to produce its fruit and leaves; thank goodness for its strength to survive.

I have watched deer awkwardly stretch their bodies to reach and grab a sweet juicy morsel hanging from the branches during the cold months when no other fruit is available for nutrition. Other wild animals enrich their diets with fallen apples on the ground. The old fruit trees remains and offers a gift for several living creatures on the island

This painting I completed with oil pastels on canvas. The scene is a small group of several old apple trees located on acreage in my neighborhood. I can almost create this scene my memory since I drive and walk pass it almost every day while on an outing.