Apple Picking

Spent a lovely afternoon last Sunday picking apples at Outhouse Orchards in North Salem, NY. McIntosh and Cortland (a variety of McIntosh) trees were at perfect ripeness and laden with fruit. Hope that the other apple pickers knew that the vines climbing all over the trees were poison ivy (see below).  [NOTE: You can get some delicious apple cider donuts and pumpkin cheesecake here, too. Great spot to spend a Fall day].

Ricky Lost His Apple Tree

Yesterday was a mess. Lot of rain, high winds, trees crashing down, rivers flooding, and many parts of New York lost power. My backyard is flooded and there is woody debris all over the place, but we have electricity, my basement is dry, and everybody is OK. Bad news is that my neighbor across the street, Ricky (shown above), lost the Golden Delicious apple tree that was growing in his front yard. And it was full of crisp, delightful fruit. Neighbors were always welcome to pick as many apples as they wanted.  This tree will be sorely missed.