apple picking while the apple pickin’s good

18 Mashiyyat 167 B.E. (Baha’i Calendar)
Soundtrack in my head:  Eastmountainsouth, “You Dance”

A couple Saturdays ago, we had an “official” co-op house outing to go apple picking. (You can see that I’m still trying to catch up with my blog entries).  

I guess I had always looked at apple picking as a chore, not a way to spend a pleasant autumn day. But I was intrigued by the idea, so  I decided to join my housemates.  One nice thing about living in Madison is that it’s only a twenty-minute drive before you find yourself in a rural area, so we journeyed a few miles east of town to a local orchard. 

apple picking

The orchard is located on a hill going into a valley and the view is great.  A guide showed us which rows had which kind of apples, with golden delicious, “jonagolds” (a cross-breed of Jonathan and golden delicious apples), and empire apples among the choices.  We gathered our canvas bags as a group and went into the “upper orchard” which was higher in the valley. 

I know there are very good reasons to garden but I have been very resistant to get my hands in the dirt, and I’ve been more than happy to let my housemates take the lead with our gardens.  But it really was fun to actually pick apples off the tree and eat them.  I’ve understood intellectually that it’s a nice thing to connect with where your food comes from, but to actually feel that connection is a different thing entirely.  It was also nice to go out with my housemates on a beautiful (albeit a bit chilly) autumn day. 

apple picking

The orchard also had a flock of sheep, who were more than willing to let us hand-feed and pet them. 


Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I now have one more fall ritual to enjoy…apple picking!

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