In the orchard
,
Yesterday was a perfect September day--about 65 degrees, a light breeze, and sunny. We headed out to the orchard for the afternoon.
We did some taste testing to decide which apples to pick and chose honeycrisp and macintosh. There's another orchard nearby which specializes in heirloom varieties. We'll go there another day and do a bigger taste test.
It's a fun farm to visit as there are also fields of berries, sunflowers to pick, and a pumpkin patch. To get to these various parts of the farm you have to follow meandering paths through the corn field (which also has a maze).
While pumpkins are definitely ripe, we didn't get any today. There's no point in doing everything on one day as going to the orchard is too much fun to do only once!
This might seem a strange description for a farm, but it's cozy. It's nestled up along the banks of the Connecticut river with gentle hills rolling up behind. The family lives right there and we almost always see someone we know--yesterday it was a group of boys from school.
This weekend will be filled with making apple sauce and apple butter. I'm sure there's a pie to be made as well!
September--The beautiful apples, so golden and mellow
They will fall at a kiss of the breeze,
While it breathes through the foliage frosty and yellow
and the sunshine is filling the trees!
John James Platt
Beautiful apples! We are hoping to make our applesauce this weekend, last time I went to Lehman's Hardware store they had those giant copper pots for making apple butter in over the fire...I am dreaming of that pot.
It has been gorgeous weather here as well, we just got our first frost this morning.
Oh, that sounds so very lovely! We are headed to the orchards of southern california tomorrow, and can't wait. It'll be part of a field trip, so I suppose they will "learn" something as we press cider and talk about the life cycle of an apple. But as a kid who grew up in New England, I hope they just fall in love with the trees, and the taste of a fresh apple, crisp in their mouth, some juice dripping off their chins....
Pumpkins next month...
Cozy sounds like a great description of the farm, from what I saw in the pictures. That path through the corn field looked so inviting. I've heard that Vermont apples are pretty good...almost as good as Washington apples. ;)
That looks like a lovely farm! We too are starting applesauce and apple butter and all that goodness. Yum.
What a beautiful day! We have been enjoying apples lately, though only from the store so far. Time to see if there are any orchards around here!
Mmm, nothing says fall like a cold glass of fresh made apple cider, or a warm brown betty on a cool night!
What a nice post to read! I completely understand the "coziness" of some farms. They are the best, in my opinion. :) We love making apple butter with apples, as well. Looks like you had fun, and will still be able to have fun when you pick out your pumpkin!
I picked up a bunch of apples this morning and I'm dehydrating some right now. Do you have any applebutter tips or a recipe you use? Soon, I want to make some!
Looks like a great place to take a sketch pad and some pencils. Seems like everyone is in the middle of apple preserving of one kind or another these days. Yummy!
Hello! Looks like I'm coming your way! :) We are moving in a week. I wonder how near each other we might be? I like your gorgeous fall photos, especially the apples. Autumn is my favorite season. Enjoy it! Thanks for visiting my blog. This visit to yours is long overdue!
I miss those New England-y things like apple orchards and pumpkin patches! Sometimes I think my kids are missing out on such wonderful traditions this time of year. But then I remember that we are making our own. Not a lot of people can go bluberry picking in the fall.