Bin Scrumpin'

7"X5" Acrylic on canvas

Scrumping: a wonderful English word meaning stealing apples, or at least taking apples from someone else's trees. Apparently it comes from the Old English word scrump, meaning apple. Scrumpy is also a colloquial term for hard apple cider.

J. took his bicycle out yesterday along a trail which goes through some abandoned orchards. He came back with saddlebags laden with fruit, about 8-10 different varieties of apple including several different kinds of crabs. Some look just like bing cherries, small, dark and glossy.

The bowl is a lovely example of Canton Ware , sometimes called Cargo Ware or Ballast Ware.Amazingly, I couldn't find a Wikipedia reference to this charming style of Chinese porcelain, so popular in North America in the nineteenth century.