Sodapop and the “Un” Forbidden Fruit

forbidden fruit

This is the conclusion to a story that I wrote back in January about a dog and her battle with ‘forbidden fruit’.

Sodapop, who belongs to my youngest sister, Chicken Farmer, and her family – is the main character of this story.  Sodapop is the daughter of my dog, Missy (that really has nothing to do with the story, however).  

The ‘forbidden fruit’ for Sodapop was an apple.  However, it was not your ordinary apple….it was an old, shriveled up apple hanging on the top of an apple tree.

forbidden fruit

We weren’t sure what it is about this shriveled apple that made her want it so badly.  But most likely, it probably because it was out of her reach and that is what drove her crazy….

forbidden fruit

She was sorely tempted by the sight of the dried up apple and she did her best to reach it, jumping as high as she could, breaking small branches in the process.

forbidden fruit

As if one forbidden fruit was not enough….there were more hanging in the tree, taunting her.

forbidden fruit

But try as she might, all she ended up with were small apple branches for all her troubles.

Sodapop

It was small compensation for a lot of work….

*FAST FORWARD TO SUMMERTIME*

Now it is summer and the apple trees are now laden with delicious apples.  Now Sodapop has more apples then she knows what to do with.  First, she enjoyed eating the apples hanging on the lower branches of the apple trees.

apples

However, now that most of the lower apples have either been eaten by her or picked by the residents of Double S Farms, Sodapop has had to content herself with eating the apples that have fallen from the tree….

apples

I wonder if ‘forbidden’ apples taste better then ‘unforbidden’ apples?

**UPDATE – We recently learned that eating too many apples can be dangerous for dogs because their seeds contain small amounts of cyanide.  So, the apple trees will soon be fenced off to keep the dogs out.**

I hope you are all having a great week so far.  We are hoping for a start to our summer rainy season later this week and are keeping our fingers crossed 🙂

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
31 replies
  1. Meredith
    Meredith says:

    It seems a kind of strange behavior… but perhaps she is aerating the lower branches of the apple tree in the process. The title of the post is so cool. 😉

  2. Kate
    Kate says:

    Cute pics. 🙂 My dog loves to eat apples. He's big on lettuce, too. Not sure why though some days he's a healthier eater than I am!

  3. Terra
    Terra says:

    Ah, the forbidden fruit is so tempting. This is a cute title for your post, and the dog is pretty. Perhaps she is a frustrated orchardist?

  4. tina
    tina says:

    Everytime I see a golden on a blog I just get all happy. Soda pop is a sweetie. She may smell that an animal has been on that apple and want to get that.

  5. debsgarden
    debsgarden says:

    Sodapop is beautiful! Our black lab Jasmine would do a similar thing, trying to reach wild muscadines growing in trees. She ate the old shriveled ones that fell on the ground and would perform all sorts of maneuvers trying to reach the ones still on the vine.

  6. Rebecca @ In The Garden
    Rebecca @ In The Garden says:

    Great post, what a cutie pie! So nice that she's the daughter of your Missy. I have been dogless for a few years, and *finally* acquired a yellow girl of my own. 🙂 I am a little worried about my garden, I will post about her soon.

  7. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    hahaha what an amusing post. Poor Sodapop, better not Popsoda, too obvious! Your photos are really beautiful, making your posts wonderful everytime, even if it's only about a rotten apple.

  8. Rose
    Rose says:

    Sodapop is such a cutie! She reminds me so much of our Sophie who loved to pull off branches from the apple tree this spring to chew on. In the last month she's eaten so many green apples, I'm amazed she hasn't had a tummy ache:)

    I hope Kai's appointment goes well this week and that he can soon say goodbye to the wheelchair.

  9. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    Hahaha, i saw my comment above on a previous date. I think the rotten apple has some smell which triggered her excitement. I haven't seen yellow apples on a tree yet, and that small tree seem to be so fertile to bear those many fruits. If i were there, Sodapop has a competitor with the fruits.

  10. Kiki
    Kiki says:

    What a sweet pup…adorable photos Noelle! What a cool tree too..very unique! Always a treat to see somthing new here..yay! thanks!
    Kiki~

  11. tina
    tina says:

    Too funny how Sodapop loves those apples. Must be great for her as they are very good for humans too! She looks happy.

  12. Rosey
    Rosey says:

    I love dried fruit, why wouldn't this adorable pooch as well?

    That is a funny story. Loved it!

    Hope you have a good weekend, Noelle!

  13. Jenni
    Jenni says:

    Cute story Noelle and the apple tree looks abundant this year, mmmm all the delicious ways to eat the 'unforbidden' fruit 😉

  14. agrigirl
    agrigirl says:

    I can't quite figure that out about dogs. One of mine was completely wound up about something he couldn't get to last night also. This is my first visit here and I really like your blog.

  15. Meredith
    Meredith says:

    I like the way you did this, Noelle, appending the new season's story continuation onto the old. Fun to see myself commenting way back when, as if we were in a very recent time capsule. 🙂

    As for Sodapop, I guess if I can get sick of tomatoes by September's end, I can understand a dog getting sick of apples — although most dogs I know love the things! Crossing my fingers for the rain to come pouring down just on schedule…

  16. Kathleen
    Kathleen says:

    That's so interesting ~ I never knew dogs ate apples?!! I've never had one that did but I haven't had a Golden either. She's a beautiful dog and maybe an apple a day works for dogs too???

    Hope you're staying cool ~ I see the temps down there. Not so exciting as in the winter time!!

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