We woke up early, put on our boots and jeans, and headed to the hill country.
It had been over twenty years since I visited an apple orchard. The last time I went apple pickin' I was a 4 year old Texas misfit living in Massachusetts. I liked it then.....but I totally LOVED it today!
It was like a scene from Green Acres, y'all.
We strolled through row after row of apple trees. Golden Delicious. Red Delicious. Imperial. McIntosh. Cortland. And so on. They were beautiful - so pretty that I almost felt too guilty to pluck them off the branches. But only almost - I bagged up about 30 apples. I ate a few along the way too. They taste so much better right off the tree, don't they?
After we sacked up the prettiest and roundest apples we could find - we got an apple cider slush, shopped in the country store, and sat on a square hay bale. Lassy was the only thing missing.
Even though there were miniature horses, carriage rides, goats, a pumpkin patch, and food - the entire day our son was infatuated with the John Deer tractor. He wanted to take it home with him. (As did his country to the core father.)
Apparently, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree".
But in all seriousness, being out in the country - on a centennial farm - with other autumn lovers - and my 2 handsome boys - I just felt blessed. At peace. Settled. Content, even.
So what did I do? I came home and fixed a Honey Dutch Apple Pie. Uh-huh - you know it was good. So good in fact, that I just might go back for thirds here in a second. If you want the recipe, just give me a good old fashioned holler.
Happy apple pickin' to ya :)
