Monday, August 27, 2018

Apple Orchard: Picking!


This past weekend, we made our annual jaunt to the apple orchard! The air was cool and lovely, it felt like Fall! It was a quick trip but filled my beauty tank in just the right ways!

I'm so happy that my kids still want to go apple picking and love these little seasonal traditions we have. They are getting a bit tired of homemade applesauce so we didn't pick as many this year, but I'm hosting a canning day for some friends so I'll still get my canning fix!


My senses were on overload as we enjoyed all that a slow day in the orchard had to offer - a reprieve from both the tasks of daily life and school but also a break from the heat as we adventured to the mountains, Fall was in the air and it was a delight!

The sights: sun filtering through trees heavily laden with beautiful ripe fruit, mountains and layered views in the distance, children enjoying themselves and families coming to enjoy the day together, colors of green and red - so striking against each other, stacks of picking baskets surrounded by weathered wood, crisp blue sky as a lovely backdrop, smiling faces.


The sounds: busy orchard workers picking the trees clean nearby, mamas exclaiming over beauty their children are showing them, requests for pictures and smiles, tractor pulling big wooden boxes full of apples to be sorted and made into delicious things, quiet nature sounds.

The smells: sweet juicy smell in the air, donuts cooking in the little wooden kitchen welcoming visitors, hot fermenting apples sitting on the ground in the sun, kettle corn, fresh mountain air - clean and cool.

The feels: smooth apple skin, brushing leaves back to find just the right one, the wooden handles of the picking baskets, weight in the basket exercising muscles, sun on our faces and backs, breeze that delights, holding hands with loved ones, pressing the camera shutter button over and over to capture memories, holding up just the right apple to show off its beauty.


The tastes: sweet crisp apples fresh from the tree, tasting new varieties, sweet cinnamon warm on a donut, fresh cider frozen in a slushy, picnic lunch and eating outside in the fresh air, sweet and salty kettle corn.

Enjoying with our senses is such a gift! Each piece adds a layer of joy and delight as we experience things fully.

Visiting the orchard always feels like our kick off to Fall - one of the things I love and appreciate about Fall is that it is a lingering season - Christmas goes by so quickly and some holidays are just one day, but Fall is a season and it delights with so many cozy things to smell, taste, touch, see and feel.

Yes, it is an early kick off - we like early-ripening apples like Galas, Honey Crisp and Macintosh. And so, we go early - when summer is still going to be around for a couple more months where we live - we go and feel the cool morning and evening air and pull a sweater on enjoying the feeling of being chilly.


Next it will be time for canning, pulling out Fall decor, enjoying our annual viewing of Anne of Green Gables and eating all the pumpkin and apple recipes.

Rachel paused to "interview" one of the owners of the orchard for a CC project this week and it was so touching to see how Rachel's interest in what they do encouraged her heart. To see tears come to the eyes of this woman who may not feel that her work matters or is appreciated, valued. To realize that visitors come into their dwelling place - their land and may not treat it with respect or may try to take advantage - it softened my heart to rules and fences knowing that they are just doing what has to be done to make it work best for them. And how it opened my heart to be grateful for what a job it is to own an orchard, to care for it and pour yourself into it and then open it up to families like us who come back year after year for visits and pictures and to bring home apples, donuts and memories.


All this to say, it was just a really, really good day!

Lots more pix coming this week!

Psalm 17:8, "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."

6 comments:

Tina said...

This is your best apple post ever! I love how you captured the senses. I would love to read Rachel’s interview. For years I’ve wanted to open our pecan orchard up to the public but my husband has always been against it for the very reason of lack of respect to your property. I can’t wait for canning day and 3 days later head out for our on apple picking adventure.

Mrs. Chrissy T said...

I am glad you all had a lovely day!! I miss our orchards. We had wonderful orchards that we visited yearly as your family does. We don't have one in this part we live in. Not even close. But we do jabe a blueberry farm sonwe have switched it.

*carrie* said...

So glad you had a great time. Love the pic of the 4 of you together! Enjoy your apple goodies!

Wendi said...

We made our first orchard trip today for honeycrisp. My favorite! We'll return in a couple of weeks for our canning apples. We are under a heat advisory so it was to hot to pick more today. Always enjoy your apple picking adventure!

Mom said...

Love your list of the ways you enjoyed this day with all of your senses! :)

Dad said...

Some of the apples of my eye