There’s not a great deal that has happened to my apple sapling since Part 8, mainly due to the rather unusual weather we have had during October.

With n’er a sign of frost on the grass or that beautiful dusting of white that often covers the remnants of hedgerow foliage, we enjoyed the hottest Halloween on record. I say ‘enjoyed’ because whilst it is always a joy to walk along the nearby Jurassic coast in shirt sleeves with the warm sun on your face, it smacks of climate change when it happens at the end of October and that is definitely not something to enjoy. It also means my tree has nothing new to show.

However, I digress. As I said, not a lot has happened to my apple sapling, so in place of an update I thought I would write a poem about it and as with most of my poetry, I am looking beyond the boundary of words and thinking about the relationship my special apple sapling has with my son who you will know, if you have read my earlier posts, has had to face one or two unusual challenges…

We hoped for life in one small pip we planted years ago,

We watched each day to look for signs that you did want to grow.

We longed to see your tiny shoots, we tended you each day

Until we saw to our delight, a green leaf make its way

Above the soil, so fresh and pure, so strong yet fragile too;

A new life starts with so much hope and dreams to see us through

Those times when life may seem unfair or not quite what we planned.

We kept you safe as we thought best and always close at hand.

So now you’re out there on your own with other apple trees,

Through wind and rain, the summer sun and through the winter freeze.

We hope you’ll grow each year in strength ’til one day we may see

Some apples of your own will hang from branches of your tree.