I think most of us have a place, whether near or far, that brings us a sense of peace and contentment. A place where just being there opens your heart, mind and all your senses to a full appreciation of the here and now. My place is an apple orchard in the fall. Picking apples is a fully, here and now, experience for me. It opens the door to a sensory awareness rarely otherwise utilized. There are apples on the ground that have fallen from the trees, and as they have been trampled by man and beast, the juice of the apples has permeated the earth, leaving the smell of freshly cut apples wafting through the air, rising from the grassy paths between the trees. There are days when the bright sun and blue skies of an autumn day, makes the orchard a sight of sheer perfection, like I am standing in a painting, fully surrounded. But the misty days of autumn, have a unique and special feel also. As I stand in the orchard, rows of trees fade in the mist. It is a different serenity. It feels as if the orchard is enveloping me. If it’s a busy day at the orchard, I bask in listening to families enjoying their time in nature; hearing little ones yelling out as they dash ahead to a tree with a branch low enough for them to reach, where they grab an apple and bite right into it, beaming with pride as if they just conquered the world. Sometimes on a weekday afternoon, maybe it’s a little chilly, I will be there alone. Silence. It’s so quiet I can hear an apple falling from a tree with a thud, from out there somewhere. I might hear the call of a crow, a rustle of leaves in the wind. Alone in the splendor of nature, away from the world, the only things on my mind are gratitude for being in this space and time, and finding just the right apple 🍎🍏🙂. I like to pick big apples. They are easier to cook with, because I can get more apple with less peeling. The big ones are often at the top of the tree, where no one has bothered to pick. You need a special, long handled tool to reach those apples, and patience. Most people aren’t there for an apple picking challenge. I locate the perfect apple and focus completely on getting it into the basket that’s on the tool, gently, without bruising it or piercing the skin. The fact is, I pick apples to give me something to do while at the orchard. The longer I am there, the better I like it. So I take my time. I position myself right under the perfect apple and raise the basket on the pole. The basket has “fingers” that reach inward toward the middle of the basket. The skill is in getting the apple snuggled into the basket without letting the fingers harm my perfect apple. The fingers are then guided over the apple and around the stem. I tug on the apple, just enough to pull the stem from the branch, trying not to pull hard enough to cause the apple to spring off the branch, out of the basket and head right for me. Watch out below 😱! And when I get my beauties home, I spread them out and appreciate each and every one of them. They are so beautiful. Looking at our feature picture, wouldn’t you agree?
Now that my treasures are home, I need to decide what I want to do with them. Always, at least one apple pie, but I think I am going to use some of these apples to make applesauce, and walk you through that process in another post. For now, I am just going to leave you with a couple of pictures I took on one of my days at the orchard.
