A Trip to the Apple Orchard

Last Thursday when they got home from school, the boys called and asked if we could go to the apple orchard. We have done this since they were toddlers and they look forward to it each year. It is what Brandon calls a tradition.

I went and picked them up and drove to an apple orchard a few miles away. The first thing that greet us was this odd looking creature.


We had seen him at the Apple Festival but the photo I took there didn't turn out. Just as I snapped it a group of people walked in my path. I didn't realize it until I uploaded the photos to my computer. I'm glad I got the photo. It is large, round balls of straw made into a scarecrow type creature.


Each year the owner of this particular apple orchard decorates for autumn and Halloween. He has a corn maze and other fun things to do during the fall season. Closer to Halloween there will be a haunted barn and a haunted hayride. Brandon has never wanted to take part in those, but he does this year. He is gaining more self confidence, which makes everyone feel good.


Just after the straw scarecrow and the welcome sign, we saw this skinny scarecrow. He sure could use something good to eat before his straw all disintegrates and leaves his shirt front touching its back.

Oh, and if you don't pay at this particular apple orchard, this is what happens to you. We all thought this was rather cute and got a good laugh out of it.

Just as I took the photo, the owner came along on the tractor and asked me what kind of apples we were looking for. I told him Courtlands, as they are best for cooking and baking. He told us they were behind the barn, which we knew from visiting previous years.

Here is the sign that marks the Courtland apples. Look at those beauties on the tree behind it.

There are lots of apples and the ones above were high in the top of the trees.

Jordan did a fine job of picking the apples. Of course he wanted the ones from the highest branches because they were nicer. LOL They were all beautiful. He just wanted to climb the trees, which is against the rules.

Brandon is tall - 5' 7" now and could reach higher than I could, so he got some of the apples that were up high for Jordan.

Here is Jordan looking down the row to see if there are bigger apples down there. He always likes exploring.
Brandon is admiring the apple that he just picked. It was completely red and when he rubbed it on his shirt it sparkled like a ruby. They were definitely nice apples.

We filled our bag that was given to us in the store at the front of the property where we prepaid and started to head back to the van.

Jordan spotted this cedar tree and was awed by the amount of seeds on it. It was like this from the tip to the ground. Another sign that we won't get a lot of snow this winter. I hope the pines and cedars are correct in their predictions. At my age lots of snow equals lots of shoveling and that is not high on my agenda.

Jordan really loved this cedar. There is kind of a hollow where a boy, or girl for that matter, could have a little cave back under there. I remember doing this when I was a kid. It was fun to have a secret place to go.

I asked Brandon to have his photo taken with Jordan and the cedar and before I realized what was happening, the boys had ran along this path between the trees and were almost back to the van - hence no photo of them together.

This does look like a place where a kid could have a lot of fun, so being a kid at heart, I went the same way as the boys.

As we got in the van, we noticed a maple that had turned color. The colors looked brighter to the eye than they do in the photo, but I love the colors against the red barn.

We had a lot of fun at the apple orchard and the boys took the bag of apples home to their parents to make pies. I'm waiting for spies (a type of apple that comes later and is exquisite in pies) to make my pies.

I hope you enjoyed coming along with us to the apple orchard. Both boys said they had a lot of fun and I did as well. We were making memories.

Be sure to take time to make memories with your loved ones. We never know what the future will hold. ~Blessings, Mary~