Apple Pick'n good time!

Hey ya'll, Greg here. Its that time of year again - school starts after a summer slumber, leaves are starting to change color (even in mid-Sept...weird...), weather is getting cooler, and apples are ripening for little hands to pick them.

While not quite as exhilarating as blueberry picking (my pulse still quickens at the thought), apple picking is still quite fun. We went to our trusty picking-center, Parlee Farms, to try our luck with Macs (Louise's favorite) and see if our summer of picking has worn off on our little farm-hand.

Despite my worries it would be chilly and foggy, it was anything but! After purchasing the requisite apple-cinnamon donuts and a bag for a 'peck' of apples (try using THAT word 5 times a day!), we ambled up for a hay-ride to the apple farms. Kai seemed to enjoy riding behind the tractor while poor Louise quickly found out that yoga pants and hay bails just don't match (who knew???).

Here he is, psyching up for the task ahead.

One of the key differences between blueberry picking & apple picking is how quickly the bag fills with the fruit. While one can easily spend much of the day hunting & capturing the elusive blueberry, one needs a mere 10 sec to fill a full apple peck. (<- it all rhymes if you don't sound out 'seconds'. An added bonus for our valued readers)

The apples in-season were Macs (did I mention Louise likes them? She did about 15 times) and Honey-Crisp. We split the peck between the two types, and enjoyed a few samples along the way. I think Kai would have eaten a whole Mac himself... until Louise swiped it from him to wolf it down herself and gave him a humble Honey Crisp. Kai, ever the gentleman, still enjoyed it.

After a hornet-filled hayride back (apparently, they like Macs too), Louise bought some flowers while Kai fed the bunnies. I thought it'd be fun to give him some goat food for the goats, but he marched right back to the bunnies to give them the goat food. That boy sure does love his bunnies! He also enjoyed feeding the chickens but goats were in the bad-books today.

Parlee set up a hay-bale maze for the kids to run around in. The haybales were thick enough for the kids to run on top of, which is what most of them were doing. After letting Kai warm up to the idea, he was feeling quite sporty walking on top of the hay-bales; he was confident enough to let go of my hand about half the time.

We finished off our morning with some ice cream in the back of our Sienna. All in all, a good day for all!