justme64: PICKING APPLES

One of my favorite yearly traditions is apple picking. To get there we drive through the black dirt region of New York. The dirt really is very black and looks so fertile that it seems anything could grow there. It makes me want to stop and fill the back of my van so I could bring it home. Our dirt here is so bad that its a challenge to get even grass to grow. Just before we reach Pine Island we see and smell the onion fields. Onions seem like a strange vegetable to me. The delicate papery outside seems inconsistent with being grown in the dirt. They never seem dirty when you buy them in the store.

After about an hour we arrive in Warwick, NY and pull onto the dirt road leading to our apple orchard of choice. The bumpy road seems to enhance the feeling that we are pioneers heading out to harvest apples in our horse drawn wagon. ZOOM! Back to reality when someone in an SUV whips passed us because we are driving too slow. We literally eat their dust.
There is something so wonderful about that first bite of that first fresh picked McIntosh! As I walk up to the closest tree, I couldn't help but verbalize my anticipation. As I describe how good it will taste, Thomas says something like "oh mom, come on are you trying to kill me!" Earlier in the day he was so hungry for his lunch of left over lasagna, his mouth was wet with drool. His salivary glands were burning with overuse. He pictured them bursting and having saliva shooting from his mouth. We both got a good laugh out of that one!

As we eat our fill of fresh pick apples, we begin to stuff the bag. Every year my family laughs at me because I insist on filling the bag as full as I can get it. After all, if I am paying $18.50 for apples, I want to get my money's worth! The kids seem to have gotten into the cheapskate spirit since they can't help but grab a couple extras as we are leaving the orchard. Am I promoting a form of thievery? Probably but since we are pretty good people we need something to make us imperfect! OKAY, OKAY, I admit it.....I always sample a couple of grapes in the supermarket before I buy them!