Crab apples

Many years ago I had a beautiful, little crab apple bonsai.
 
It was a very early flowering variety and to pollinate it with another species of Malus, I had to find another early flowering apple tree – any Malus would do.
 
I found one and each year I would take my little treasure and pollinate it with the tree. Passers by would think I was crazy.
 
In its final year of life, now about 35 years old, it produced 18 beautiful, size appropriate apples.
 
But that was too much for the tree and it died. I did not realise what a strain it was on the tree.
 
This, Dear Reader, is the full size tree that I would visit each year with breeding on my mind.
 

Hasn’t it done well after all these years?