We are just now getting into "busy season" at the Orchard! And the weather is helping it feel like October already...in the 60s all day. It doesn't sound all that cold until you're damp from washing a pile of dishes and step outside into the breeze! Then it's definitely nippy!
An interesting thing happened last night at the Orchard though. The neighbor's cows got onto the Evans' property some how...and decided to check out the mums, pick some apples (roughly 1/2 bushel per tree on one row), and...take on the challenge of the corn maze. I think they must have gotten frustrated in the maze though...they gave up following the pathways and just busted through the whole thing. Eeek! So that was a different kind of happening...and one I'm sure Mr. Evans would rather not be repeated! No more cows seeking amusement, please!
And what else do we do this time of year besides holding cow parties? Well, for starters, we start making apple butter again! Even after stocking up as much as we could over the winter, we still need more for the harvest festival! Same with the strawberry preserves. They just fly off shelves. And the pies are STILL being made daily, the fudge is still being cranked out, breads and dumplings, cider and slushies, apples and pears, lunches and ice cream are still finding their happy way into peoples homes and stomachs. :) But in ever-increasing amounts as we hit the zenith of the Orchard's year.
OH! (and this has made me happy!) guess who learned to make donuts? My brother Tyler! And he does a lovely job. Today I was cutting up bananas (??? at an apple orchard ???) for the dehydrator while he made donuts. Okay, ordinary enough. Not with Tyler. He had to get a chunk of banana and toss it in the fryer "to see how it would turn out". Black. That's how it turned out. Then he had to coat another piece of banana with leftover batter to see "how it would taste". Gross. That's how it tasted. "I've never really liked cooked bananas" he says. Somehow I'm kind of glad donuts is the only thing he does in the kitchen just now. ;)
So into October we go! With school tours during the week (hundreds of kids!), weekend-long festivals (thousands of people!), and I'm feeling in my bones that my non-stop-fudge days are just around the corner...fun fun fun!!
