The Pot of Gold

Yesterday as Bill drove up to the orchards, he saw snow on Stormy. You know what the old timers say about snow on Stormy in October? It means we're going to have a lot of snow this winter, and our apples will sell for a good price. I confirmed the first part of it on the NOAA long range forecast. Yep, the scientists and old timers agree. The second part I'm waiting on....

This is the first snow of the year on them thar hills. Can you see Ray & Stephanie's house by Stormy? I'm teasing you. Their house and farm is too far away to see. However......

When Bill arrived at Last Chance Orchards, he saw that the end of the rainbow was at Ray & Stephanie's house. He was very excited to hear about the Pot of Gold at their house, so he called Stephanie. Stephanie was, of course, very excited as well and said she would let him know when she found it.

Saturday we finished picking the small block of Red Delicious. It's been chilly each morning. The pickers really look forward to the coffee and donuts as they wait for the sun to warm the apples.

Notice that the water in the stem bowl is frozen. Our pickers wear gloves this time of year.

FYI it's time for the Farm Quiz Game!

What's on this Red Delicious apple?

a. Apple eye lashes
b. Apple nose hairs
c. Lacewing eggs
d. Red Whisker Disease

I hope you didn't say, "Red Whisker Disease" because I threw that one in there to trick you. Good thing you said Lacewing eggs because I might have needed a time-out to guffaw a bit.

This is what an adult lacewing looks like. This is a beneficial insect that in the larvae stage feeds on aphids, thrips and assorted other soft bodied pests that damage apples and cherries. We love them and frequently purchase them so they'll help us with pest control. According to Bill, at night in the tractor headlights they look like iridescent fairies.

So after a full day of picking, we drove out to Ray & Stephanie's to help them look for the Pot of Gold and join their cider party.

We didn't find the gold but we did find some yummy apple cider. A delicious blend of apple varieties that created a light and refreshing glass of cider. Ray had several bins of Sweetangos, Honeycrisps, Galas and Robellas. The Robella was new to us. This apple had more acidity and added the tart flavor to the cider. As you can see, this cider press is very impressive. Ray restored most of it and even built the new basket underneath since that part was missing. The other thing you can see is that Ray likes Bill's jokes. That's awesome, Bill, because he's been listening to them since you guys were in kindergarten. Making cider is hard work. The crew needs cold hearty ales to sustain the pace of jug filling.

The grinder chews up the apples which fall in the basket.

When the basket is full, a wooden lid is laid on top of the ground apples and the screw compresses the apples in the basket to create the juice.

Stephanie sent us home with several jugs of juice. She said, "It's a cultural experience and part of the season." And we said, "WE LUVIT!"