An Apple a Day...

Autumn is apple time. On a sunny day, I can step out my front door and smell sweet, ripening fruit from my porch.
My husband, Doug, planted our small orchard about 25 years ago with a plan for diversity. Each tree offers a different fruit. Tart, red-streaked Stayman Winesap apples. Yellow, firm Golden Delicious. Blushing Cortlands. Miniature Seckle pears. Juicy, crisp Asian pears. And a sort of watery, tasteless pear (name unknown) that we toss into the cider press or feed to the horses who are very enthusiast about overripe fruit.

Our orchard is an organic one, so our fruit is not always the prettiest. But it tastes great, doesn’t harbor any unwanted chemicals, and you can eat it right off the tree as you take a walk through the low branches and on down the gravel road. While the fruit may not place first in any beauty pageant, it definitely would win Miss Congeniality.

Enjoy your autumn!
Karen Weir-Jimerson

PS: The new kittens I wrote about in my last blog are up and about. Claire, their mom, moved them from the garage to a small space beneath a wagon/planter on our back porch. I can hear their little “mews” every time I step out the door. They’ve reluctantly made friends with our pushy, but friendly, Jack Russell terriers, Snap and Archer.