Apple Picking

For quite some time, I have wanted to go fruit-picking with my children.  We missed strawberry season, blueberry season, and peach season, so apple season was my last resort.  We located an orchard in Ohio, not far from my grandparents’ house, and decided to make a day of it, picking fruit and visiting grandparents.  It was really good to see my grandmother, who has not been in good health for some time.  I wish we could visit more often, but our schedule and the distance makes visits too few and far between.

We arrived at the orchard in the late morning.  It was overcast, and we were afraid that it might start raining at any time.  Time was of the essence!  They also had a small petting zoo along with tons of pumpkins, gourds, and beautiful fall flowers.

    Here is my little Pumpkin family!
   After posing with several pumpkins, we were ready to pick apples!

  
Each of the kids had their own little basket to fill with apples.  I told them they could eat whatever they picked, so not to pick up rotten ones off of the ground ! :)

The fruit of their labors is quite sweet!

Josiah with his partially filled basket.

Abigail holding a very nice Golden Delicious variety.

Esther with her pick of the crop.

Daniel, obviously pleased with the whole outing.
As we started heading out of the orchard, the rain began to fall.  We tried running, but the apples kept falling out of the too-high piled baskets, so we had to content ourselves with just walking as quickly as possible.  We also bought an already picked half-bushel of Jonagold apples, which I hope to turn into a pie later this week.  Yum!