A little sugar goes a long way....

Corinne and Sean, with our impressive haul for a half hour's work.

For as long as I can remember, my parents have had crab apple trees in the front yard of their home in 103 Mile, a quiet neighbourhood rimming the tiny lake just north of 100 Mile House. (Yes, the creativity of the pioneers who named these places is staggering. I guess they had other things on their minds.)
One year Dad was under his truck, working away on one of those mysterious things that men and women who like to work on trucks do under there, when he heard growling "and carrying on," a few feet away, near the apple trees. He barked at the dog to be quiet, and kept working away. The noise continued, which is not uncommon for the dog, so Dad ignored and went about his business. When that was done, he slid out from under the truck and began to clean up, and found that his noisy companion was not the dog at all, but a bear who was happily snacking on the little red apples littering the ground beneath the tree.

So, now we pick the apples when they ripen and quickly clean up the windfalls, and this year Mom and I have gleaned about seven gallons so far from the yard trees and my sister-in-law and I have thinned out one orphaned tree at my aunt's neighbour's home and have our sights on some of the ornamental trees planted downtown. While it can be a lot of work getting much off the tiny, tart fruit, it's very worthwhile, just don't forget to add sugar. Lots of sugar.
If you get your hands on some crab apples, try this recipe:  http://www.canadianliving.com/food/crab_apple_jelly.php. You'll be glad you did. As for me, crab apple wine maybe?