Chez StanMinn Communiqués: Apple Picking

"I'll humor you this photo-op, but then I'm going back to the car."

Not to sound like a broken record, but I do like fall.
I suppose one reason is due to a fond family memory- picking apples.
I know where I live now is the land of apple (and pear and hazelnuts, etc.) production, but we had some fairly good specimens in the middle of Ohio, too.
Likely, that's mentioned elsewhere on these pages, but again, it sure was something I'd always look forward to as long as I lived at home.
The trees there seemed to be larger, so we kids climbed up the branches to clutch our crisp rewards and then heave the lesser ones forcefully at one another.
Here, though the limbs are equally laden, it would be harder to access since they're more bushy and dense, as if they're not pruned in the same way, if at all.
Which is just as well for me because I'm both lazier now and old.
All I want are those damn apples I can get to myself, quickly.
Of course, "taste testing" is still an important part of the activity.
There are lots of varieties where we go, most of which you don't find in the stores, making the trip extra worthwhile.
However, it seems we've not been able to get our timing right the last few seasons, always waiting until the latest possible weekend to find decent fruit.

Really pushing it this year, what should have normally taken very little time actually lasted longer searching for edible goods.
A benefit to living out in The Sticks is that travel time to the orchard is negligible.
The dog goes.
Oh, she hates it.
She is a curmudgeon.
She hates everything (except sleeping and eating) and is a contrary, disgruntled animal.
But tough shit, she's going with. We're the humans. We're the boss of her. She needs fresh air and to move her old lady bones about and truthfully, I'd rather not deal with what we're likely to come home to: her "presents" as it were.
She uncharacteristically shows no interest in the foodstuffs on site, but rather gets all dance-y back home in the kitchen for a tossed bite while we're processing them into one thing or another.
This year, we went easy on collecting mostly because it was slim pickin's by the time we finally got our act together.
Dehydrating slices is my favorite and hopefully I'll put up some applesauce before it all ends up on toast and latkes.
I've also perfected making my own Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) which thrills me to no end.
Used primarily in the chicken coop as a cleaner and added to their water for health reasons, I am saving an incredible amount of moohlah (it's with 'the mother'; Bragg's brand very spendy.)
The farm we hit up grows a bit more commercial and user-friendly every year now that the patriarch has died and the next generation has taken over and stepped things up
I've no complaints; they've cuted it up with new additions and still let me take home some of the old pumpkins for the hens.
Though the time and place have changed, the tradition remains- picking apples will always be one of my autumn favorites.