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~

The Apple Festival Part II

Aahhh! Sweet success! Blogger allowed me to upload the rest of the photos from the Apple Festival. If you didn't read part one, you can find it HERE.


This is the booth where I bought Brandon the goat milk soap for his face. He has a lot of dry skin and the lady shown here, selling her wares, explained that goat milk soap is more natural than other soaps. So Brandon is going to give it a try and his face gets itchy and he is beginning to show the first signs of acne. This lady makes all her own soap through cold processing. I would like to know more about making soap and one day I'd like to try it. Grandma used to make her own soap and I know it is hard work, but the rewards are awesome.

Brandon and Mom headed back to the van and Jordan and I went to see if the book was still there that he wanted. It was and he was delighted. He is crazy about dogs and this one was The Dog Who Thought He Was Santa Claus. He thought it would be good reading a little closer to the holidays and I agreed. I don't mind buying the kids books. I encourage them to read and since it was Scholastic chapter book, the price was good.

Jordan liked the car above. I believe it is a Firebird. I did look at the names as we walked along and tried to remember all of them.
He also liked the car above. It was a beauty. The man had it sparkling clean inside and out and not one mark on the upholstery anywhere. It was easy to see he takes good care of it. Jordan was amazed to find out what a running board was and the man let him stand on it.
Ah! Sweet memories of days gone by. A Thunderbird. No suicide doors however. Jordan had never seen one of these before and was enthralled with the spare tire on the back.
He couldn't believe that anyone would put Howdy Dowdy under their car hood. In fact, he laughed when I told him that when I was young that my brother, sister and I used to watch Howedy Dowdy after school while we were doing our chores. This is one of my favorites; both the style and the color suits me well. I would love to own a care like this with the beautiful chrome and the whitewall tires.

When you compare what was under the hood of this baby with what is under the hood of today's cars, the difference is amazing. Oh, to own a car like this one and it came all the way from Florida.

Jordan loved this car and I haven't seen a Cobra in years. The owner was very protective of his baby and I can't blame him. He told Jordan he could have his picture taken beside the car, but not to touch it. Jordan was up for that. He loved the cobra on the side of the fender, just in front of the door.

After seeing the cars, we headed back the the van where Mom and Brandon were enjoying an apple dumpling. Mom had bought some at one of the booths and she said they were delicious. She offered me some but because of my diabetes, I declined.

As we were heading out of the village for the drive back home, we saw other vintage cars heading to the Festival. I guess they were a little late.

It's always nice to get out and about in the fall. I'm writing this Sunday afternoon and hubby and I just got back from a drive. We ended up taking a walk in a nature area. Photos in the next day or two.

Enjoy your day and be sure to take some time to enjoy the season. ~Blessings, Mary~

St. George Apple Festival

The boys stayed overnight at my place on Friday so Mom could have a Girl's Night Out. Dad was working.

Early Saturday morning, we headed out for the St. George Apple Festival. It is an annual event, but we had never been there and neither had Mom, so we stopped and picked her up before we headed out.

The photos aren't in the order I wanted them because Blogger is giving me a hard time. At least I got them uploaded. For a few minutes I didn't think I was going to be able to.

In the morning there was a scarecrow contest. Now if you are a regular reader, you will know that I love scarecrows. There was a variety but I only took photos of a few.
The scarecrow above was right near a kids' book display. Jordan looked at the books and saw a couple he liked. This was near the beginning, so I told him to look around and see what else they had. If we didn't find anything else he wanted then we would get it on the way out. He did get a book when we were leaving. It was titled, The Dog Who Thought He was Santa Claus." That should be fun book for him to read. There was nothing for Brandon's age but he has a lot of reading to do in school this year, so he didn't mind.

This guy was cute and was guarding the telephone booth and the food booth.
When I first saw the Granny Biker Lady scarecrow, I had to take a second look. She looked mighty real sitting there with her back against that pole. If she didn't take first place then the judges weren't seeing the scarecrows through my eyes. She was awesome.

Jordan took the photo above. He is a dog lover and thought that sign was just great. It is a no pooping sign for the lawn. I'm sure if hubby made his mind up to do so, he could make him one.
Both of the boys were enthralled with the wooden toys. An elderly man made these and he also had transport trucks, fire trucks with ladders and airplanes. Brandon is thinking he would like a career in woodworking and he mentioned that to the man at my prompting. The man told him to forge ahead with his dream that cabinet and furniture makers made good money. That made Brandon stop and think.

This booth was the first one we saw when we got to the apple festival. It should have been first, but as I said, Blogger was being difficult.
This booth had lots of handcarved wooden items. The stools were well made and very intriguing.
Above is a beautiful green area with a fountain and lots of lush greenery. In the summer this area would be alive with blooms.

Jordan wanted some candy floss and since we didn't get to the local fair this year, we got him some. Brandon got a candy apple.

Brandon was not in a good mood today. Here he is giving me "the look." Mom is watching to see what I'm going to do. The best thing to do when Brandon is being like this to say, "Brandon, that's enough," and then leave him to sort it out for himself. It makes him worse if you harp at him. He has been having a difficult time with his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder lately. He was well behaved, but was just being ornery. I told him that Grandma could be ornery too if he didn't settle down and so he just kept his looks and thoughts to himself. Sometimes it's difficult to decipher if he is being a teenager, if his Asperger's is making him act the way he does or the Obsessive Compulsive. He has a lot on his plate, for sure. If we don't know what to do, how can he? And remember, kids with Asperger's Syndrome dislike crowds and noise. This wasn't really crowded nor was there a lot of noise, but if Brandon wasn't feeling up to par, it may have been enough to bother him.

This couple had a very pretty booth filled with autumn decor items for the yard and home. They also had a few Halloween things.

The booth above was all about gardening and had some plants in some nice rustic planters. I enjoyed browsing and so did Mom.

Can you believe that the flowers above are made from apples. Apparently Mom had seen these before, but I hadn't. The greenery is artificial but the flowers are made of apples.
This man could play the pan flute and make heavenly music. I would have liked to look at his booth closer, but I knew we were going to lose Brandon if we didn't hurry along. I didn't want him to have a meltdown, as this would have made everyone, including him, feel bad.

I bought some goat's milk soap for Brandon, as he has a lot of dry skin on his face. He told me he would use it and a woman was selling it. She makes it herself and says that many teens use it for skin problems. I did get a photo of her booth, but Blogger won't let me upload it.

Mom and Brandon headed back to the van, while Jordan and I went to see if his book was still there. It was and I told him that it must have his name on it or it would have been gone. He thought that was funny

As we walked back to the van, we saw a few vintage cars. Again, Blogger won't let me upload those, so I will save them for another day.

Enjoy your day and be sure to take some time to stop and smell the roses. ~Blessings, Mary~