Manzano means Apple in Spanish

I have lived in, and I now live within the shadow of the Manzano Mountains in Central New Mexico. There is an ancient apple orchard up there, in the village of Manzano, that is said to date to the 1500's, planted by the Spaniards or, more likely, the Franciscan friars that followed and "converted" the natives living there to their faith. The ruins of the Mission of Quarai in the nearby town of Punta de Aqua is as magnificent and imposing a cathedral as exists in any European city, and just as old. If you ever come to New Mexico, you must see it.
I grew up in the midst of an ancient apple orchard in the village of Corrales. The trees were very old when I was a child there, in the 60's, and welcomed me with open, nurturing branches to climb them, which I did often and with great skill. They are mostly all gone, now.
We have a small Gala apple tree in our backyard. Most years, the blooms are frozen off in the wicked weather we call spring. But this year, they made it through the gauntlet of freezes and produced an abundance of apples. We're still suffering from a major drought, so there wasn't much native food for the birds to eat. What the worms didn't eat, they did. And welcome to it! There was enough to share. I couldn't find a single apple that didn't have at least one worm hole in it to paint, then I decided, hey, what the heck,
"Nobody's Perfect!"
5" x 7" unframed. Available for $75.00 postage paid in the USA, as soon as it's dry. Purchase