Saturday, September 22, 2007

Apple Picking

Guess where we went???


What would fall be like in Maine, if we didn't go apple picking? Last year it seemed like I was at the orchard A LOT! I went once with friends where we picked a 1/2 bushel, we went once with the kids Awana group where each boy picked a 1/2 peck & again when my brother & his family were here from California when we picked yet another 1/2 bushel. This year I knew I didn't want to be making endless batches of applesauce, so I held out. Sure enough, the kids Awana group did another excursion.

N is in the Sparks group which is for grades K-2 at our club. One of the things they need to sign off on a section is to take a Nature Hike so every fall their Director plans to do this at the apple orchard outing. This year, they planned for everyone to go on the hike, then eat lunch, & then go pick apples - together - there were some issues with this last year - can you tell?

I took about 30+ photos - got to love digital - but I promise not to post ALL of them. Here are some of my favorites...


One of the leaders did a talk before we headed out. She gave each child an apple seed & talked about how you plant it & it grows. She then talked to them about how to plant a seed for Jesus. I'm not sure some of the younger ones made the connection, but they all promptly planted their apple seeds. :-)


Many of these little salamanders were found along the trail - well, underneath rocks along the trail. These were all caught by two of the GIRLS on the walk. :-) Got to love it. Although, my oldest son decidedly they weren't so bad after all & he'd like to find one & keep it for a pet. Um, this didn't happen - at least not yet.

While I love my digital camera, the flash on it is very weak. It does not do well in low light settings outside at all. This is a photo of the director pointing out this really cool tree with a big hollow in it. This was near the end of the walk. We were on the hike for about 1-1/2 hours I think. We went slow & stopped often. We had children ranging in age from 3 up to 13 (I think). There were about 20 kids & 10 adults.



We all rode the tractor up to the top of the orchard for our lunch & to pick the apples. This was, of course, the highlight of the boys afternoon.



And yes, I made ALL the kids pose for me!!!! :-)





No, he isn't sleeping. I caught him in the midst of a blink. However, my hubby doesn't allow me many photos of him so I didn't dare ask for a retake. He liked the apple though.

J loves his apples.

N showing off his bag of apples. He was a bit possessive of them which I found funny considering he won't EAT them. He will drink apple juice, but he won't eat apples. ::sigh:: I can't seem to convince that they are the same thing. Maybe some day!

We had a great time. Now my hubby is bugging me to make him an apple pie. ugh! LOL

5 comments:

  1. Hmmm..we haven't done this yet this year...I usually wait until after the first frost as I think the apples are sweeter.

    Great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another FUN excursion. Our boys just went to pick apples at my mom's house the other day! I hope to do some serious blog catching up this weekend now that the luau will be over and things can settle down into a "normal insane" schedule instead of a crazy insane" schedule (LOL)!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm jealous...I miss apple picking. I did that in NY and CT a LOT. But there aren't many (if ANY) local orchards here....sigh.

    The pictures of your kids look great. J is really photogenic.

    And to be honest, I didn't think your hubby had his eyes closed due to blinking...I thought he had them closed because "mmmmm....how delicious is THIS apple?" - he looked like he was truly enjoying that apple!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. VERY nice that your whole family (which means your dh) could join in!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so salivating over these apples! You know I lived in Illinois for 21 years very close to a fabulous apple orchard and never went picking until about 4 years ago when the kids and I were visiting in September. That thought apple picking was far superior to strawberry and blueberry picking. In no time at all, you have a huge bunch! :-)

    ReplyDelete

Oh thank goodness! I'm not here all alone. Thanks for leaving me a comment. It helps that I'm not always talking to myself. Right? Hello?