apples and things

We live in the vicinity of many, many apple orchards.  It’s become a fall tradition of ours to go apple picking, which is always a really sweet time.  I mean, don’t get me wrong–there are plenty of whiney moments, too, from all of us.  This particular Saturday a few weeks ago was a scorcher, so we were all pretty hot and tired by the end of our venture.  This particular orchard had an apple gun, so we treated the kids to a round of shooting apples, but only philippa, our fearless one, really wanted to give it a shot.  We let the kids each fill a basket and B and I filled one, too.  We ended up with more apples than we really needed.  It’s good and important for the children to connect with our food in this way, to see how it’s grown, to pick it and wash it and then eat it.  To understand it comes from seed and soil and sun, to smell the squashed apples around the orchard.  It really does seem to make a difference in how they/we consume food.  I wish there was a good organic orchard nearby, but there isn’t.  I made a large batch of applesauce which the kids all love and have been enjoying, as well as an apple pie recipe that a friend shared with me (a family recipe), which I adapted to be GF.  I still have a large amount of apples in my fridge waiting to be processed and enjoyed.  The children and I have so enjoyed leaning into the change of seasons here, dancing a bit on the edge of the last heat of summer and the cool crisp mornings of autumn.  My roses and hydrangea are still blooming, most trees are still green, but summer is on its way out, and I am so glad.