Red Jewels

The crabapple's leaves are all down now and the red crabs look like jewels all over the little tree. 

I'm still amazed that there are so many crabapples. Spring flowering was sparse, yet there are tons of fruits. Very festive and holiday appropriate. If we get snow for Christmas the bright red ornaments on snow covered branches will be perfect.

The fruits are tiny and intact, not yet falling or turning mushy. It seems they dry out and get dark and smaller as they age, so I'm hoping there won't be any kind of sticky mess on the ground. 

But we haven't had a hard extended freeze yet, and a good long freeze will soften the crabapples  -- great for the birds who will eat smaller crabs like these after they have softened, but not great if they get messy all over the ground.

It's still a young tree, and I haven't had fruiting like this before. So when they fall I'll have to see what that does to the walkway and gravel below.

For now I think they are decorative red jewels, lovely to look at.