Flowering — not all apple varieties bloom at the same time; if one variety blooms early and when there’s a heavy frost, there will be a small number of apples that fall. A later blooming apple which misses the same frost could be more bountiful.

Growing season — depending on the weather in your region during the growing season, there may be a smaller crop of apples. Less popular or more delicate varieties may not be shipped in as sellers may only want to buy apples they can be sure will turn over.

Popularity — as more, newer and increasingly popular varieties reach the market, growers may put more energy into those apple crops which command more money at the market rather than older varieties.

Attractiveness, keeping — some of the older varieties were not developed for their appearance but for their taste, texture and their ability to be kept. Consumers encourage this by purchasing more of newer, attractive varieties instead of older mainstays. It could be that Honey Crisps have now replaced some growers’ Winesaps for this reason.

Timing — We haven’t had a light frost here yet, means some of my favorite apples aren’t yet ready; could be the case with Winesaps. Early crop apples include Macintosh and many other softer apples, but later season apples with firmer flesh aren’t ready for picking until just before first frost and later, until the first hard frost.

Their pies are to die for, especially the apple-caramel-walnut.

I’m headed this morning to a family-owned farm market, only two miles in the other direction; there will be crates and crates of squashes now, along with other veggies like Michigan-grown cabbage and carrots. And apples, more apples.

Beautiful morning here, too, temp about 65 deg and clear with a few clouds dotting the sky; almost regret not going to a tailgate party at the local university which started at 9:00 am.