I am a novice fruit picker. I haven’t lived in places where it was so accessible or prolific. Fall is my favorite season and the first order of business when it starts to resemble autumn is apples. Actually, it is candy corn but apples closely follow.
For logistical reasons, we chose Sherwood orchards, in Sherwood Oregon and it was a perfect place for my first experience. The orchards are run by an older couple who seem to operate in a charming time machine. He had one of those wireless landline phones that resembled a brick with an antenna. They had a plug in answering machine. The map and harvest schedule was written on well used paper that is holding out despite its demanding use with a plastic sleeve
They had many rules about where you pick, where you pack, what you picked and what tools should not be used. It was a serious business and I appreciated everything. My approach was quantity over quality. Ultimately this was not going to be for snacking. Anything that didn’t look like it had bruises and worms made it in the bucket.
I brought it home and promptly made Ina’s Apple Crisp.
Since then I have become more of an apple picking roadside connoisseur. Those who know me are probably not surprised to learn that I am very much there for a handful of charming pictures and a well stocked gift shop. Extra points for excessive pumpkins. Subtract points for petting zoo.
Recently, we went to visit some of our favorite people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I was instructed by those in the know in Bucks County to head to Solebury Township to find the legit apple orchards. They were not wrong. I did zero apple picking but took some very cute pictures of signs. Excelllent font use and apple paintings. The gift shop was the best I have seen.
It has created a lasting memory and now when we travel if I hear of a nearby apple orchard late summer into fall, I insist on stopping. Even if I am not there for the harvest itself, there is a chance I am going to buy some apple butter or even better, an apple cider donut.