Dale's winter apple harvest. I got 70 pounds of apples on December 23rd.

I didn't start the day expecting to harvest apples.  The last time I harvested apples was October. We've had some snow and some very wet,  rainy,  cold, weather. The apples may have been on the ground for more than a month,  but most are still good.

They are very hard and chewy.  Perfect apples for keeping. They are very sweet and generally tasty. I want clones of this  tree. This tree is in a fairly warm microclimate,  being in Sidney British Columbia on the Saanich Peninsula of Vancouver Island.

There is long grass and a puddle under the tree. I suspect that the apples landed on the grass and that the water has protected them from frost and from the impact.

The land is being redeveloped and the tree is hollow. I'm going to ask if they are cutting it down,  and if so,  I'll take a large portion for grafting.

Most of the country is covered in snow. Even here, most apples were harvested more than two months ago. This may be Canada's latest apple harvest.

Wow, that is quite the microclimate.

The tree had to be cut down to clear the lot,  so I have saved some nice branches.

Now I have to learn how to graft. I've never done it before. My immediate plan is to store the branches in a shady spot where they won't sprout during a winter thaw. I shouldn't say thaw.  Today was well above freezing as are most days during the winter.

I salvage more, nice hard,perfectly preserved apples today on January 8.

Exactly three years later, we have another winter that has seen very little frost, near the ocean around Victoria. Just about everywhere else in Canada has snow or has had snow.

It's sometimes fun to call relatives at Christmas time, on video chat. I dress a little too lightly, and don't let them see me shiver.