Apple of my eye

I wonder where the saying apple of my eye came from .So looked to good old Google and Wiki came up with this apple of one's eye.... Special favorite, beloved person or thing, as in The youngest was the apple of his father's eye. This term, which rests on the ancients' idea that the eye's pupil is apple-shaped and that eyes are particularly precious, appears in the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:10). As it was a Sunday and a glorious afternoon I thought it was very apt to having this for my blog heading today. I suppose I was the apple of my Dad's eye I am the youngest and the oldest too. For me, my Dad is very special too. At 98, he loves life,is very wise and does so much. We took the opportunity to go and pick some apples. No chance of me driving. So now it is apple pies,apple crumbles,apple cakes,apple sauce,stewed apples and plenty to eat until Christmas. The ones that had already fallen off we left for the birds to eat. It is days like this when it is good to be alive and so glad we thought to plant those fruit trees. Fruit trees grow quite quickly and you can usually reap the benefits within a year or two. These will have been planted probably 20 years now. 20 years has gone by so quickly. We plant trees every year as my Dad has always said you should plant for future generations to enjoy as his fore elders had planted many moons before. We have owned the same land for nearly 130 years as a family. He has enjoyed trees throughout his long life and I suppose that love has rubbed off on me. My favourite is the mighty Oak probably planted a mere 100 years before. Often thought to be slow growing, the native oak is really relatively quick on good soils, reaching 20m (60ft) in 50 years. It is a remarkably long-lived tree, too; some of the oldest oak trees growing in this country are pollards, up to 800 years old. Many famous named trees have large boles with circumferences up to 14m (45ft) and stag horned heads. We have all sorts of trees and plantations of ancient woodlands that guests are welcome to walk through. Some which are not quite as common, usually bought for birthday and Chrsitmas presents. My "portfolio" of trees include fig, acacia, walnut and a couple of Wellingtonias, a Canadian maple as well as Eucalyptus. On my Chrsitmas present list this year are copper beech and a peach tree. Oh and I forgot I have a mature lemon tree and 9 young ones I have grown from pips. Also a yuzu tree from a pip ...just one so fingers crossed it will florish.