Apples!

This past Saturday we went out on what might be a new annual event - apple orchard picking with Sharon and Andy! Stotler's Orchard is maybe a 10 minute drive from our house, and we had so much fun last year we HAD to go back and do it again - and this time Sharon wanted DOUBLE the apples, a full bushel, just for the two of them. First you go to the store, check out all the apples that have been picked already, realize none of those will be anywhere near as good as the ones you pick yourself, buy a cinnamon sugar donut (YUUUUM!), and then tell them you're ready to go out to the fields.

Since we were a bit earlier in the apple season this year, there aren't yet as many apples to choose from - and the heirloom orchard (which we picked from last year) isn't even open yet. Well, that makes for a shorter trip out to the trees - but they still drove us out on "the mule" to where we'd be picking.


They remembered us from last year because we were the only ones that the mule has ever gotten a flat tire on - and that ride last year was a looooooong ride out!! The Stotler's daughter (pictured from behind here) brought a second mule out to get us when we were done picking, while Mr Stotler (an apple expert!) changed the tire. This year we didn't have quite the same excitement, and were even able to walk back after picking our apples rather than wait for a ride back on the mule.


On the way out to where you get to pick, you pass by a lot of rows of apple trees, many of them that LOOK like you should be able to pick them, but they're just not ripe enough yet.


More rows of "do not touch!"


The ride out is fun and bumpy - so far none of us have been thrown from the mule!


Once we got out to the area where we got to pick, we were shown which rows were ready (just four varieties this past weekend) - each is marked with a flag. They give a very good description of the color, taste and texture for each variety you can pick, ask how many bags (each is a half bushel) you'd like, and send you on your way. I would guess they come back maybe every half hour to check on us while we're picking?

Time to get to work!


Some of the trees were absolutely LOADED with apples! Mr Stotler told me his thinning crews actually didn't do a very good job this year - just a group of high school students spending a week to thin all the apples. I imagine it's tedious/monotonous work, and must get boring after awhile... But with less thinning, the trees bear too many fruits, and can be overloaded both weight-wise, and with how much energy they need to provide. With more apples on a tree, each apple can end up smaller (which we noticed), plus there's risk of the tree not wanting to produce next year.


It was also very sunny, but not at all hot - the weather was PERFECT for apple picking!


Awwww...look at Sharon and Andy being all romantical!


Waaaaitasec - hey you two! GET A ROOM!


As you can see, there were SOME rows of apples that had already been very heavily picked, so we would find biiiiig gaps between pickable apples (some of the apples didn't release easily from the tree, so I assumed that meant they weren't quite ripe. Others just fell off in your hand). Later in the season, when more varieties are ripe at the same time, you don't have to walk far at all to get more apples of dozens of different varieties, all ripe and ready to pick, just hop, skip and a jump from where you're standing.



I had Sharon pose with this tree that was absolutely LOADED with apples! I like the top branch that's arching over...


One of the fun things about picking your own apples? Getting to taste test each variety to decide how many you really want to pick!


Hey Sharon - how's that apple taste?


We were finding a lot of oddly shaped apples this year - not sure what that squiggle was all about!?


See, I was clearly working MUCH harder at picking apples than Andy was! ;-)


I admit it - I'm immature. Finding an apple with a belly button (innie!) or butthole easily amuses me.


Andy still hasn't bothered to put any apples in his sack! (Sharon picked first, then they swapped bags)


Sharon picked the picture perfect apple, with just one leaf on it! Waitasec...


(polish polish polish)


Ok, NOW it's picture perfect (hm, and a bit out of focus)


And here's my "around the nipple" technique for polishing apples...


Ok Sharon, I don't think it's so picture perfect when you get half the branch!!!!


Here I'm posing with the small tree that you're not allowed to pick from because little kids stand next to it and pose for pictures. So, hey, I had to pose with it too!


Um, did we already confirm the taste of that variety? Are you just snacking now?


Goodbye pretty apple trees!


Brett and I have talked about going back in a few weeks, when the heirloom orchard is open and many more varieties are ready for picking. We'll see!