picking apples

Last Monday we picked apples. I have been canning and preserving up a storm and applesauce is the last thing on my list before I'll feel really ready for winter. There are a couple of trees at the work center where the FS keeps older, lesser-used machinery, so we went to harvest. The trees aren't maintained at all, but Dave has been keeping a close eye on the apples all summer, and they weren't buggy, so we were pleased.

 We brought a shorter ladder and also borrowed the one stored at the work center. The trees were SO tall, so I was grateful for the larger ladder.

 Jed had a blast with all the tractor implements. He climbed all over them--and the ladders, although I didn't get a picture of him--and had a great time.

 Hank had fun sitting on the blanket, playing with grass and weeds, toys from the truck, and eating apples.

 Here he is chewing on some apple while he sits in the shade of a GIANT roller.

 "Yay!" Hank is a great clapper.

 See? That roller is ENORMOUS. Good thing it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

 Jed would pick out a specific apple on the tree and either climb up to get it himself or have Dave or I pick it for him. Then he would play with it for a while (one of his apples was named Barry, and he loved it for a long time) and then take a bite. His sharks also enjoyed the apples.

 Hank knows where his ears are and will enthusiastically grab them when you ask him.

 We moved to another set of apple trees and found this pear tree as well. It didn't have very many pears on it since it hasn't been maintained, but what there were were pretty decent sized.

 Unfortunately they were INCREDIBLY high up. You can sortof see one if you look in the top 1/3 of the picture. Dave was super brave and climbed up for a few pears. We are trying to decide if we want to go in the spring and trim the tree in hopes of good pears. We're waiting for the ones we picked to ripen and see if they're worth the effort.

Here is our haul! Four boxes of free apples are definitely exciting to me. Driving home, Dave said "I feel so rich!" I laughed and said "I know, I am so excited. But why am I excited about all the work I have to do now?" It's true--I do feel excited and rich. I love being able to work and teach my boys that work produces delicious and worthwhile efforts.

I will have to wait until next week to make applesauce though--we are off for a week of pleasure in upstate New York with Dave's parents, grandparents and one brother and his family. We are excited to spend time with family, see beautiful colors, add two more of the Great Lakes to our list and, most importantly, visit the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah. Stay tuned for that!