The proud little apple tree stands straight and tall. He is five years old now and is beginning to feel pretty important because he is big enough now to grow some nice big red juicy apples.
Winter is over and Farmer Ed has pruned out his branches that aren't needed to let in a lot of sunshine and to keep him healthy. His dormant time is over and he is rested up and ready to wake up to the warm spring sunshine.
He can feel his roots beginning to soak up the moisture from the soil and the fertilizer that Farmer Ed has spread around the tree. His sap is beginning to run and buds that formed the summer before are beginning to swell. Farmer Ed will come through with his big sprayer soon so that his apples will not have black scabs on them and so insects will not feed on the leaves and make the little tree sick. Soon his buds will burst open into green leaves and beautiful sweet smelling blossoms.
The little tree loves this time of year when he and all the trees around him are in full bloom. Farmer Ed and his family always take a walk through the orchard during blossom time and he loves to see how much they enjoy this special time of year too.
The bees also like this time of year when they come out of their hives to gather nectar from the blossoms to make their honey. What they don't realize is that while they are busy gathering nectar, they are also spreading pollen from blossom to blossom as it sticks to their fuzzy body. This is what causes the blossom to be fertilized so that an apple can grow.
As the tiny little apples are formed on the tree, the little tree knows that he needs lots of sunshine to keep his leaves healthy, and lots of rain so that his apples can grow to be big and beautiful. If there are too many apples, Farmer Ed will pick some off so that the others will have more room to grow. By the end of summer, the little tree is feeling loaded down with the heavy apples and is looking forward to fall when the apple harvest will begin. Farmer Ed has done a good job of caring for the tree and he has a beautiful crop of big, red juicy apples on his branches just waiting to be picked.
Soon the harvest begins and the orchard is busy with pickers. The little tree is glad to be relieved of its load, but sad to see its beautiful apples go into a big bulk box. Tractors load the boxes onto a truck that will take them down the road to the packing shed where they will be sorted and boxed and then shipped to market. Some apples are stored in refrigerated rooms to be sold later and some are sent to processing plants where they are made into applesauce, apple pie slices or apple juice.
Harvest is over and the little tree is sad to see that the pickers are all gone now and the orchard is quiet once more. The days are getting shorter and colder now and soon it will be time for the little tree to rest for the winter and prepare for another growing season. He smiles as he thinks about the coming spring when once again the warm sunshine and the spring rains will make the little tree come alive and be ready for a new year.
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