The other day I opened my big mouth and said something really dumb: “I don’t like Crab Apple trees!” I did qualify it, but especially this time of year saying that is really dumb. Who would not like Crabs this time of year?! The variety of colors and shapes I’ve seen is stunning, whether cultivated or wild. Plus they are food at all stages for many insects, pollen and nectar in the spring, fall and winter food for birds and other animals and on and on. And, did I mention, the gorgeous flowers provided for our enjoyment?!
I may not like Crab Apples during other parts of the year (high maintenance, planted in the wrong places, etc.) but I promise I won’t again say I don’t like them! Thank you blooming Crab Apples!
Still Learning To See 
I’m still chuckling–you have the great quality of humility, sir, to laugh at yourself. I grew up on a street lined with crabapples, and my brothers certainly enjoyed gathering them up for “crab fights”, using garbage can lids for shields! Your “reaction” to these trees reminds me of how much people seem to HATE dandelions–yet that’s the first bouquet most of us get from our children. My spring desktop picture was of a dandelion’s little round face, and like my brothers’ enjoyment of the crabapples, I liked making dandelion chains. In both cases, regardless of our human enjoyment or aversion, their COLORS are such a gift! Emerson is right: “The earth laughs in flowers.”