When I was little, my family went to Lynd's fruit farm to pick apples in the fall. It was a different experience then in many ways. It certainly wasn't as crowded, but there also weren't as many varieties of apples. They hadn't cultivated the dwarf trees back then, so we got to climb ladders to get the apples from the higher branches. And we picked into bushel baskets instead of bags.
But I like to think that for Alex and Ari, and now for Heath, Carrie, and Quin, the memories will be as warm. So we make it a point to go to Lynd's at least once each fall to pick apples and enjoy the other activities.
Yesterday, it was so cold that when you ate the apples fresh off the tree they tasted like they'd been in the crisper. At times we walked with one hand on our apples and the other hand in our pockets. I can't remember picking apples with winter coats and hats before, but at least we weren't troubled by any bees!
I do not know why Carrie's hat looks so funky. She is an odd little duck when it comes to fashion.
Carrie has on her "I dropped my apple" face, and Heath is doing more eating than picking at this point. Quin is the only one hard at work.
I love this shot, though you can't see her eyes. Her little hands were so cold, but she loves fresh apples!
One satisfied customer.
Two-fisting it. Quin is eating with one hand and picking with the other. Look how red her nose is!
Heath is proud of his apples.
After a stop at the tent to get lots of fall goodies - Yum! Turnips! - we headed back to the Olde Homestead. Yes, they are eating beef jerky and caramel apple lollipops at the same time.
Adam loves raw fresh chestnuts, so he taught the kids how to peel them. Heath loves them, and not just because we let him poke them with the sharp knife.
The girls were practicing writing letters while they ate the chestnuts. Here Quin cons Grandma into peeling hers for her.
Ever since we let the kids use the camera on our vacation to keep them quiet at the restaurants, they ask to use the camera all the time. Quin took the next two pictures. Not bad for a three year old!
She really captured Heath's eyes!
Carrie took these next two pictures.
It looks like Pepper's thinking "Get that thing away from me!"
After eating our fill of the raw chestnuts in the afternoon, we roasted a few in the evening. We didn't have an open fire or a chestnut pan to use in the fireplace, so we just cut the Xs in them and roasted them in the oven. Here are the warm chestnuts after we rolled them in the towel to crack them.
Heath likes them roasted as well as raw, just like me. The rest of the family is divided. Mom likes them better roasted, and Adam and the girls like them better raw. We stopped eating them when Adam pointed out that deer eat them in the fall to build up yellow fat for the winter. Good thing we only added a little salt and didn't dip them in melted butter!
The girls were practicing writing letters while they ate the chestnuts. Here Quin cons Grandma into peeling hers for her.
Ever since we let the kids use the camera on our vacation to keep them quiet at the restaurants, they ask to use the camera all the time. Quin took the next two pictures. Not bad for a three year old!
She really captured Heath's eyes!
Carrie took these next two pictures.
It looks like Pepper's thinking "Get that thing away from me!"
After eating our fill of the raw chestnuts in the afternoon, we roasted a few in the evening. We didn't have an open fire or a chestnut pan to use in the fireplace, so we just cut the Xs in them and roasted them in the oven. Here are the warm chestnuts after we rolled them in the towel to crack them.
Heath likes them roasted as well as raw, just like me. The rest of the family is divided. Mom likes them better roasted, and Adam and the girls like them better raw. We stopped eating them when Adam pointed out that deer eat them in the fall to build up yellow fat for the winter. Good thing we only added a little salt and didn't dip them in melted butter!They are much easier to peel when they are roasted. And they smell awesome!
I think today we'll go for the straw bales and pumpkins to decorate the front of the house. Then the plan is to use more of our fall fruits and vegetables for an old-fashioned Sunday dinner of stuffed and roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, and homemade apple dumplings for dessert. That is, if I get my rear into gear!
2 comments:
We love apple pickin' too! And I love the kids snacking on the variety -- reassures me that Vanessa's requests for Goldfish and cheese for breakfast might not be so weird after all. :) What do you do with the turnips? Did those go with the chicken too? Not a turnip fan based on how I've tried them, but perhaps I'd like them in a disguised kind of way. :) I also really like the chestnut activity -- that's too cool! And the girls are great photogaphers!
Oh, Adam makes the turnips in a way that isn't very healthy - basically they are pan fried in butter with salt and pepper! They were yummy, though! We balanced the fat in the turnips with a healthy bean soup on Saturday. We did have the chicken and potatoes as anticipated, but we still haven't made the apple dumplings. I think we may have to wait for the end of the week now!
I don't think that's an odd breakfast at all - I think Vanessa has it right. A little protein and some carbs - better than a lot of the traditional breakfast foods for you!
I'm thinking about getting cameras for the kids for Christmas since they seem so interested in it.
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