…keeps
the doctor away, right? If that’s really
the case, then I’m probably about to become the healthiest person I know. Spending fall in upstate New York feels like
something out of the movies! The
countryside is stunning with the changing leaves and it seems that every corner
is full of signs pointing the way to local orchards.
Where I’m
from in southeastern Missouri, we have lots of peach orchards. Come late July and early August, folks are
often at roadside stands picking up bags of peaches. The town of Campbell, Missouri celebrates
every peach season with their annual “Peach Festival.” To win Miss Peach Fair queen is a big crown
and a big deal! I never could do better
than first runner up (the girl I lost to went on to win Miss Teen Arkansas-so I
don’t feel too bad!)
The
only apples I’ve ever purchased have always come from a supermarket, so going
to pick your own sounded like it had potential.
My husband and I set out Saturday looking for a pumpkin to accent our
front door and ended up at Bowman Orchards in Saratoga County. A line of
traffic waiting to get to the orchard made us figure we were in a good
spot! It took about 20 minutes just to
get parked. The veteran apple pickers
knew to bring their own bags, since we had nothing bigger than my purse, we
ended up springing $.50 cents for two plastic bags that came with a map of the
grounds…and no instruction on what to look for in picking a good apple.
With more
than 40 varieties growing at the orchard, we literally had our pick! We ended up with two bags full of Braeburn, Cortland,
Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Red Delicious and Suncrisp apples. The best part was you could just eat them
right off the trees! Who doesn’t love
snack time??
We got
a little carried away with the apple picking…and ended up with 22 pounds of the produce! (Rumor has it that they’ll freeze well)
The orchard also served apple cider donuts
and we couldn’t leave without trying some.
Of course, we had to wash it down with a jug of apple cider too. I think we’re still twitching from the sugar
rush!
As I
google apple recipes online, I just realized we forgot to buy a pumpkin while
we were out. Maybe next weekend?