In which there's another little story to make you smile (please share it!)

In my home county, there are feral apple trees everywhere--trees that had been part of somebody's homestead, left behind when the house burnt down or was abandoned.  

Driving down any county road in spring, you can see the blossoms from the back seat window of the car.  Riding a horse along abandoned lanes and logging roads in autumn, you can eat-as-you-go, because there are plenty of apples for riders and steeds.

Where I live now, the apple trees aren't so common, but if you know how to look, you can still find them.  I consider each tree a blessing.

The blessing of the tree (Israel)
There was once a soldier returning home to Beersheba after fighting against the Romans.

He had walked for many miles, and had many more miles to walk. He was tired. He was hungry. He was thirsty. The desert was hot and dry, and yet, far off in the distance, the soldier could see a tree.

Breathless with fatigue, he walked to the tree, thinking all the while that it might be only a mirage. But the tree was not a mirage.

It was a real, living apple tree, and upon the branches were three tiny shriveled apples.

The soldier was too tired to even eat. Instead, he threw himself under the shade of the tree and slept soundly for many hours. Upon awakening, he ate the apples.

"Apple tree, you may not know it, but you have saved my life. What can I do to show my gratitude?"

He has nothing in his pockets, nothing at all.

But then he thought, "Who says I have nothing to give you?" Everyone has something to give, no matter how poor he is. A blessing! A blessing is a gift everyone has to give.

“My blessing is for all trees planted from your seeds to grow up as wonderful and as giving as you.”

And so it was.