Saturday, November 6, 2010

A Harvest of Horse Apples


Last fall while visiting a friend in Dallas, I learned about Horse Apples. You can read my original post on this interesting fruit here.


I suppose I'd seen them before, but never paid them any attention. Turns out there is a Bois D'Arc tree near my home. It dropped its horse apples into the street for weeks.


I gathered some up and brought them home to enjoy. They fit perfectly in the antique wooden dough bowl I found while in Santa Fe this past summer.



I had a little fun playing with them in the afternoon shadows.

Linking to



Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

56 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness Sarah,
    I can so see how these were hard to resist!! The rumpled texture of the skin and the fantabulously fresh green color....oh my...love it!! Your flowers in the previous post are just too too pretty!
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
    xOxO Nerina

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  2. Oh, I haven't seen any of those in such a long time! What fun to see them on your post and you do have some terrific shadow shots for the day! Hope your weekend is going well, Sarah! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  3. My goodness...these are new to me! Can you eat them? I love the texture and they make a truly pretty arrangement! What a great post, Sarah!

    XO,
    Jane

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  4. Your arrangement in that gorgeous bowl is just beautiful! They are such an unusual looking fruit aren't they!

    Best wishes and happy Sunday,
    Natasha.

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  5. I've seen those before and wondered what they were, but I never knew they were called horse apples! I thought horse apples were - - - - well, - - - - you know, horsie doo-doo.

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  6. I've never heard of these, but they're wonderful! Great color and amazing texture. They look just perfect in your wooden dough bowl.

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  7. These apples have such interesting texture.They are beautiful in a display but can they be eaten. What an interesting post.

    Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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  8. Happy Pink and now Lime Green Saturday. Your pink lilies are gorgeous. These horse apples are so amazing. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could dry them and keep them looking like this. I adore the color and the texture. I went back to your first post. I loved the acorns with them, the dark brown with the lime was fantastic. Enjoy!

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  9. I just love horse apples, they photograph beautifully!

    Happy Sunday!
    Anne

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  10. What an interesting fruit - if it is even a fruit! I went back to read the original post as I'd never heard of the Bois D'Arc. The colour and texture make them irresistible!

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  11. what a totally cool fruit ... I had never heard of it, they look wonderful in wood.

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  12. I've never heard of horse apples before! They do look interesting, but I wouldn't want to be sitting under the tree as they're falling:@)

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  13. I've never heard of horse apples before but they sure do look interesting! They create some lovely shadows too!

    Have a great week :)

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  14. I LOVE the texture & color! I've never heard of horse apples...Love them in your wooden bowl with the shadows playing across them~ I would love to find some to use in a floral arrangement :-)

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  15. Thank you for an interesting post, and your photographs are lovely. Now I know they are called Horse Apples.:)

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  16. I have never seen or even heard of these before. They are so interesting looking. I wish they grew up near me. They look so pretty in your wooden bowl.

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  17. I have never heard of horse apples before but they sure are a beautiful fruit. Your display of them are gorgeous. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such a sweet comment about my kitchen. I am really enjoying it.

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Gail

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  18. Hi Sarah,
    The knobbly green fruits in the smooth wooden bowl makes for a very interesting display, the shadows add another dimension. Great shadow capture!
    Maggie

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  19. Sarah, they look beautiful in your wooden bowl. I love to decorate with nature too.

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  20. Very pretty! We always called these hedge apples and supposedly you can pput them in the basement and they keep the creepy crawlies away...I'm heading straight to your original post to learn more.
    Blessings, Beth

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  21. I have never seen these! How lovely! can you varnish and keep forever?:)

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  22. I had never heard of horse apples. They are so interesting. The texture is amazing.

    It's wonderful to have you participating in Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  23. They look so pretty in the wooden bowl. I have heard them called osage oranges and hedge apples also. Use to see them more often when a child. Those things can be dangerous when they fall. :D I also have heard to put them in basements, garage corners, etc to keep bugs/spiders out.
    Have a great week.

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  24. I have never seen these myself. They look wonderful in your bowl!

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  25. Where have these interesting apples been all my life? So filled with pretty color and texture.
    Brenda

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  26. Around here we call them hedge apples-and we have less and less hedge trees-so they're kinda neat!

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  27. Around here we call them hedge apples-and we have less and less hedge trees-so they're kinda neat!

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  28. That beautiful shade of green in that gorgeous dough bowl - perfection! I love this arrangement. So simple, yet so effective. Love it! Kat

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  29. They are so unusual and their bright gree color makes them so decorative. That is a very pretty bowl!

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  30. G'day Sarah ~ I often wondered about these little fellas ... hadn't heard them have a name. Are they simply for decor? Look fab in your bowl.

    Have a beautiful week ~
    TTFN ~ Marydon

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  31. I have never heard of these Sarah. theyae beautiful!

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  32. I remember that post, Sarah. I had never heard of them till then!

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  33. Well I learned something too. I never knew what they were either. great fun and they look splendid in the bowl.

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  34. Sarah, I loved seeing these. We had a stand of these in our pasture growing up, and I think they are so neat. Love your wooden bowl, too. Neat find!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  35. So glad to meet you! The horse apples are wonderful as are your beautiful flower photos in the previous post. Mah-velous, dahling!

    Take care,
    Judy

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  36. Sarah,

    I have never seen these before. I had to do a double take to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was! ;-) These are really quite beautiful. I'd have brought a load home too and displayed them just as you have. I have an old wooden bowl that belonged to my Great Aunt and Uncle. I'm off to see your other post on these.

    Lovely photos, btw!

    Nancy

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  37. Those grow all over the place here. We call them Osage Orange. They can be kinda sticky, so when we bring them inside we are careful to put them in a container, not directly on wood furniture.

    Once I put one in a jar filled with water and added a label that said "New Brain". I gave it to my brother in law on his birthday... as a joke.

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  38. Those have such a pretty color and make such a beautiful arrangement. I love the antique wood bowl you have them displayed in.
    Have a great week.
    Jane

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  39. I don't think I've met a horse apple before. They are pretty cute in your dough bowl - I want a dough bowl! :) They do look rather fallish and your sunlight snaps are beautiful!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  40. What nice fruits to display! I love the texture and color. I have never seen them before. Can you eat them? Are they any good?...Christine

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  41. Hi Sarah, I've never heard of horse apples, but they are gorgeous - both the texture and the color. Wow! Linda

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  42. What a cute and fun item to decorate with Ÿ I ♥ unusual and natural items to decorate with.

    Glad you came by my blog and left the sweet comment about my test tube favors Ü

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  43. I know them as hedge apples and have always loved the color. They do make a lovely display at this time of year. I thought of planting one but after reading how poorly the tree grows, the borers that kill them, and the mess they make in a formal garden, decided against it!!!

    Great post Sarah, love them in your wooden bowl.

    You did get my e-mail I hope regarding the trip plan falling through! Will make it another time hopefully dear.

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  44. I have a dough bowl, now I have to find the horse apples....
    It looks wonderful, what a great idea.
    Love the post you did on the fresh flowers, but seeing the horse apples, I think that I like it just as much.
    Charming!
    Bye for now, looking to find horse apples,
    Evi

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  45. Hi Sarah! Congrats! :) I drew your name for the prize. Please email me so we can make arrangements for delivery!

    ~Liz

    lizr8r@gmail.com

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  46. Whoa! I've never seen these before. Very cool :0)

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  47. Sarah, I remember your previous post about this. I had heard of horse apples before and always assumed they were fed to horses. I remember you saying in that post that horses don't eat them, and I was so surprised. They really make such interesting and pretty decor. Love them with that wooden bowl. Did you see Kathy Sue's post about lime green on the T'givng table? This would be good for that. I don't think we have any of these trees around here. laurie

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  48. I forgot to tell you that your shadow shots of them and your mosaic are so pretty. I need to try to do some of this artistic photography that you and other bloggers do. laurie

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  49. They're new to me. I love the texture, great photos!

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  50. OK, those are the coolest new thing I've seen in blogland. I have NEVER seen them before. I love the look of them. Now I need to bip over to the linked post and read more.

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  51. They are a very pretty color, Sarah! We had them in FL on our golf course. Weird looking! I hear they repel insects & spiders.

    I like your arrangements, both last year & this time, too.

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  52. Hi,

    I have seen these once before but never knew what they were. Thanks for clearing up the questions. Love the pictures. Beautiful job.
    Hugs,
    Carely

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  53. I have to read that post about horse apples, I never have heard of them, but they sure are gorgeous still life objects. Wonderful to paint.

    Karen

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  54. When I was a little girl...a looong time ago, living in Dallas, we had horse apples all the time. We kiddos would play with them a lot.
    I've never seen a tree that produces them out here in our West Texas town.
    I would love to find some..they are so beautiful..especially in that beautiful wooden bowl.

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  55. Hi Sarah,

    We always called them hedge apples when I was growing up in Middle TN. I picked up a bagful beside the road recently (thinking centerpiece for a tablescape post), but they were "going south" quickly, turning brown and getting very sticky. I ended up discarding them. But I do love the shape, color, and texture. I'm glad you shared yours and that you photographed them so beautifully!

    Kindest regards,
    Bill

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