Just Call Me Eve
Sep. 21st, 2010 07:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluesgardenCircumstances prevented us from picking apples yesterday as planned and, instead, we went today. Yesterday was sunny and the temperature was in the mid-70s. Today it was sunny and in the upper 80s. *sweats* Fortunately, with D along to help, it didn't take long to pick!
(There was a random boat stashed in the orchard. All I could think was "wow, I'm feeling very Old Testament now".)
The Power Macs and iPods had all been picked so only fruit were left, but that was just fine with us. The air was absolutely redolent with the smell of apples.
D picked the Macs and I worked on the Cortlands, then D vetoed the Red Delicious (!!) after a taste test. I'm not a Red Delicious fan, but D usually is, so I was surprised when he turned them down. We still had two boxes to go, so we headed over to the Jonagolds and Melrose. Between those two, the Jonagolds won, and it was only the work of a few minutes to fill the boxes.
The amount of fruit in an orchard will never stop amazing me. It's like the wealth of nations. The windfall apples alone-!
Total harvest was almost 4 bushels: 166 pounds, or 75 kilograms, at $0.40/pound. There are 3 baskets of McIntosh, 3 of Cortlands, and 2 boxes of Jonagolds.
Guess what I'm doing tomorrow? I will probably have assistance from D's grandmother, which will be nice as that's a lot of apples. A good portion will be turned into baked apples - which is really just what I call very chunky applesauce - while some are getting canned as apple halves for D's mom to later bake into dumplings. Some are ear marked for her fridge and I'll probably set a bit aside to try out an apple chutney recipe as well. (If we had a root cellar, or a cool basement, they would keep there for quite a while with no processing required. Sadly, that's not an option yet so canning it is.)
On a related note, D starting a new job and therefore having two paychecks for two months (while he started one and used up vacation at the other) was one of the best things ever. Not only have we been able to buy plenty of fruit this summer, but we have the money in the bank to completely fill our (small) fuel tank for heat this winter. \o/ Also on the agenda - apple trees. It'll be a few weeks, but we're planning to get 10 saplings from the orchard as well, varieties as yet to be determined. :)
(There was a random boat stashed in the orchard. All I could think was "wow, I'm feeling very Old Testament now".)
The Power Macs and iPods had all been picked so only fruit were left, but that was just fine with us. The air was absolutely redolent with the smell of apples.
D picked the Macs and I worked on the Cortlands, then D vetoed the Red Delicious (!!) after a taste test. I'm not a Red Delicious fan, but D usually is, so I was surprised when he turned them down. We still had two boxes to go, so we headed over to the Jonagolds and Melrose. Between those two, the Jonagolds won, and it was only the work of a few minutes to fill the boxes.
The amount of fruit in an orchard will never stop amazing me. It's like the wealth of nations. The windfall apples alone-!
Total harvest was almost 4 bushels: 166 pounds, or 75 kilograms, at $0.40/pound. There are 3 baskets of McIntosh, 3 of Cortlands, and 2 boxes of Jonagolds.
Guess what I'm doing tomorrow? I will probably have assistance from D's grandmother, which will be nice as that's a lot of apples. A good portion will be turned into baked apples - which is really just what I call very chunky applesauce - while some are getting canned as apple halves for D's mom to later bake into dumplings. Some are ear marked for her fridge and I'll probably set a bit aside to try out an apple chutney recipe as well. (If we had a root cellar, or a cool basement, they would keep there for quite a while with no processing required. Sadly, that's not an option yet so canning it is.)
On a related note, D starting a new job and therefore having two paychecks for two months (while he started one and used up vacation at the other) was one of the best things ever. Not only have we been able to buy plenty of fruit this summer, but we have the money in the bank to completely fill our (small) fuel tank for heat this winter. \o/ Also on the agenda - apple trees. It'll be a few weeks, but we're planning to get 10 saplings from the orchard as well, varieties as yet to be determined. :)
