Ladybugs

I decided to pick some crab apples from our tree this morning.  When I was kneeling on the ground, picking from some of the lower branches I looked down and saw a number of ladybugs in the grass as well as a few crawling on my pants.  It must be ladybug season.  There are so many of them!

I am going to try my hand at crab apple jelly.  I know that the apples on our tree are considered ornamental but there are so many that I figured I had better pick some or they will just rot on the tree/ground.  They are such tiny apples.  The biggest ones are about the size of a large cherry.  I have cut into them and tasted them and they are sour, but not bitter or completely unpleasant.  I imagine it will take a lot of apples, and a lot of sugar to make something palatable, but I am going to try.