ravenh2001: I'm afraid it is, and that's all they ever color up as they ripen in the worst of our heat (late September). I got the cutting from a tree in the mountains and confirmed the variety, and as you'd expect the quality is much better up there. Odd to think that Northern Spy would be low-chill, but they're very reliable here and get huge. You're probably used to seeing it with red striping and blush. At this stage in the photo about half of them will be brown and rotting on the inside, with just about a 1/4" of firm flesh under the skin to keep the shape. On the other hand, the Bramley tree next to it will have firm, crisp, sweet/tart juicy apples that look much like the ones from a cold climate.

Patty: I've heard that elsewhere. It's almost like a grape where a late crop can be forced by pruning. I know a guy in Indonesia that gets two crops a year of grapes by pruning soon after harvest. Guess I should get one of each and see if I could force two crops a year by pruning or stripping the leaves. It might take some experimentation to figure out the timing. But if they are blooming now it should be close. Are they blooming on the old wood? Don't see how they could bloom on newly forced wood like grapes do. If they are blooming on old wood are all the flower buds blooming or just some?

I've enjoyed reading about your Winter Hummer and offer this thought. If it happens that your Anna's should stay for the summer and into next winter and beyond, I won't be surprised. Looking thru my journal going back to 2001, all we ever had was the summer Rufous, but for the first time in 2008 and then every winter since, we've also now had the Anna's stay year-around, including seeing the female collect nesting cotton and actually finding her nest and nestlings in 2010. Records show that Anna's have been expanding their range for many years. It is the Female Anna's that establishes the nesting territory and nesting should begin in another month or so here near North Bend, WA. If your Anna's should stick around through the summer, you might just be having your husband get used to the early morning winter feeder duty!!! Enjoy and Good Luck

I like mos of her quotes. It must not have been easy to have Sigmund for her father. She followed the same profession, but had her own ideas, lived a long life.