Harvest In Full Swing

Once the leaves start to change colors, they don't waste any time.  We are almost at peak color here already, and the leaves are starting to drop in earnest.  The wind kicked up today and was blowing the leaves off the trees so much that I had to get out and take some pictures before the first Fall rain comes and washes them off the trees altogether.  The only thing yet missing for you to know it is Fall here is the smell of wood smoke in the air.

My annual pilgrimage to Bayfield yesterday for apples netted one bushel mix of McIntosh and Wealthy apples for making apple sauce and apple butter, and one bushel of Cortland apples for fresh eating and baking.  I was also able to find 20 lbs. of pears at Apple Hill Orchard. (I really like Apple Hill.  The people are very friendly; you can buy great apple pies; they have nice dogs; and it is the only orchard I found where you can take your family and pick your own apples.  I suppose there are other orchards that let you do that, but Apple Hill is the only one I have found.)  At Hauser's I bought some delicious local apple wine. I hoped to buy a couple of gallons of cider at Erickson's, but they were just pressing their cider to have for the Bayfield Apple Festival.  I tend to go up to Bayfield early because I hate the crowds and driving through Bayfield is awful.  Thousands of people go to the Apple Festival which is a fun event, but I'm just not a crowd person so I take my chances and go up the week before the Festival.

The house smells real good today. . . .

We dug Tom's potatoes.  He had some nice Kennebecs and Red Norlands. I like my Red Cloud potatoes, but I sure wish I had some winter squash to put up.

Red Cloud potatoes, pears, and apples

I still have one more batch of apples to cook down before I can the sauce up, so I'll let you go.  Blessing to you all!