Val Dumond

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Little Green Apples
by Val Dumond
©2005

Summer spends a few days in northern Wisconsin - usually in late July or August. It's always been like that, even back in the 1930s. The sun shines mercilessly then, sometimes to the chagrin of the hay threshers and the women cooking over the old wood stoves. The kitchen feels even hotter than usual as the women make jokes about "ladies who never sweat; they glow."

Children love it, the heat - my sister and I always do. We find a shady spot near the water pump house where we can make mud pies and cakes, taking moments to grab a sip of cold cold well water.

The best times are the afternoons, luncheon dishes put away, animals fed and watered, children fed and... well, it is quiet time. On the hottest days, Mother leads us out to the orchard where we find apples on the trees, beginning to look like apples except they are not red. But we find our treasures on the ground, where the thunderstorm a couple nights ago shook them loose.

Gingerly, Mother shows us how to find smooth green apples and check them for worm holes or "bad places." Then we pop them into her basket. When we have as many as we can carry, we hike back to the house, keeping as much in the shade of the apple trees as we can, pausing occasionally to pick up still another "perfect apple."

In the cool of the kitchen (the wood stove fire has died down), Mother washes the apples in cold water from the well and places them in a bowl on the table - that lovely great kitchen table that serves as dining room, entertainment center, psychology couch, and social parlor - and invites us to help ourselves. My sister has to have Mother cut her apple into small pieces, but I dig my teeth into the taut skin and lick the peeling. Then I dip the damp area into the salt dish and stick the apple back into my mouth. Ohmmm! I can taste the tart, slight sourness, compensated with salt. And my mouth is watering.

NOTE TO OTHER APPLE BUFFS … AND WRITERS:
It's that time of year when I am reminded of this snapshot of visits with Grandma in the summertime. It's also time for the Curran Orchard annual celebration of ripe apples in University Place (that's near Tacoma, Washington) on Sunday, September 11.

The volunteer caretakers of the community orchard have just published a cookbook of apple recipes. Yup, everything from soup - and salads - to nutty desserts. Call or write for information about getting your hands on one of those cookbooks (only $10).

Do you have a short story (less than 1000 words) or poem involving apples? Send it to me with your name, address and phone number. We're considering publishing a book full of apple writing.

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