Baby Apple

This is probably one of the last apples to ever grow on the ancient apple tree in my backyard.  Though we love the tree, it has suffered from years of abuse.  Insects, disease, woodpeckers, people, and squirrels have wreaked havoc on the old man tree over the years.  Large sections of the tree are dead, and the squirrels leave us virtually no apples to enjoy in the fall.  Scores of immature apples litter the grass, each plucked by a squirrel, only to be tasted once and dumped.  What a waste.  Recently, I noticed a section of tree up high where an animal (squirrel) has been chewing the live bark off.  Teeth marks and all. 

The tree will probably go next year.  But for now, it keeps pushing on, bearing fruit in the face of adversity.