not far from the tree

The apricots continue to ripen on trees all over the neighbourhood. Even the youngest trees are weighed down by their own fruition.

I have lived in this neighbourhood for five years and never before realised how many apricot trees there were. Now I see them with every corner I turn, especially lining Toronto’s back alleys. The other night I started mapping the fruit trees of the neighbourhood to keep track of those that have been registered, and it’s wholly satisfying to see the clump of push pins that we’ve picked from. Considering that each apricot tree gives well over a hundred pounds of fruit, we’re growing so much food in the city, whether we notice it or not.