Apple Pickin'

We live in a land covered with apple trees. On one of the routes we take to/from Jason's office, we've seen three large apple trees. They are on the base's golf course and we've wondered what happens to all of the apples. On Friday, Jackson and I drove past the trees and I decided to give the golf course a call to ask them about the fate of those big red apples. The manager told me that they were up for grabs, that I was the third person to call that day, and that it was a race to get to the apple trees. I was so excited! I was even more thrilled when he told me that they did not put any chemicals on the grass. Super!!! I loaded the car with a laundry basket and ladder and waited for Jackson's nap to be over. After one stop to the personal property office where I scheduled the dates for our household goods to be packed and picked up, Jackson and I headed to the apple trees.

When we arrived, there was a German man filling his trailer with all of the apples that had fallen to the ground. He was going to use the apples to make apple wine. He told me that the trees were 75 years old and he gave me a little history of the area before the base took over the land.

Jackson and I had a great time picking apples off of the tree. At first, he wanted to drop the apples to the ground. Lots of fun for a 22 month old! After some persistent encouragement, I got him to put them inside the bag I was carrying. I wish I could have captured a photo of his sweet face as he looked up into the tree and saw all of the apples and then carefully picked each one. Whenever he picked an apple with the leaves still attached, he pulled off every leaf before he put the apple into the bag. After he'd picked a few, he'd look up, point, and joyfully shout, "More! More!" It was so fun!

We filled a laundry basket with apples. I'm excited to make applesauce, apple pie, apple strudel, apple juice, apfelshorle (a German drink of apple juice and sparkling water), apple and sausage patties, carrot-apple-nut muffins, dressing with apples, pancakes and waffles with apples, salads with apples, oat groats with apples, and the list goes on. My dad arrives in three days, and I'm looking forward to cooking fall treats for him and my family.

Here are some photos of our apple pickin'!

The ground covered with apples:

One of three trees and the one we picked from:

A closer look:

With all of those apples covering the ground, it was a delight for Jackson to pick them up and eat them. I came prepared with a wet washcloth to clean them before he ate them.

A little apple skin...still too difficult to chew:


A bit tart:



The German man was so kind to snap this photo of us up in the tree. I was very grateful.

Part of the fun for Jackson was climbing up and down the ladder. He would only climb to the second step and then try to go to the third, but he's a very cautious little boy and apparently didn't feel comfortable going that high. I love that about him!



The goods:

The apple pickin' team: