Apple Picking

Fall is my favorite time of year and the best time to be a New Englander.  To me, fall is crisp cool weather, vibrant foliage, turkey with all the fixings and football.   As a child fall meant jumping into large piles of leaves, trick or treating, carving pumpkins, soccer and apple picking.  I have discovered that one of the best things about being a parent is doing all the things that I enjoyed as a kid again.  This past weekend, the temperatures were unseasonably warm, so we decided to take full advantage by spending as much time outside as possible.  Our first activity was apple picking. I couldn't remember the last time I went, but this trip was sure to be memorable as it was Darius' first.

On the 30 minute drive to Brooksby Farm, Darius fell asleep.  I had tried earlier to put him down for a nap, but he wasn't having it.  As usual with day trips, this one started by loading a sleeping Darius into his stroller.  With the warm weather, the farm was packed.  The line to pay for bags was quite long, so it gave us more time to let Darius sleep.

After about 15 minutes or so, we got our 1/2 bushel bag and headed off to pick.  Riding over the rough grass didn't wake Darius, so it was time to wake him up.  He rubbed his eyes, looked around and said, "Apples!"  Sometimes he wakes up in odd places and doesn't know where he is, not this time.  He was excited to pick apples and knew exactly where he was.  He was groggy for a few minutes, but then he became an apple picking and eating machine. 

As we walked through the orchard, I couldn't believe how many apples were on the ground.  It was such a waste.  Everyone was in search of the perfect apple and anything less got tossed. In some spots there were more on the ground than in the trees.  Some were good, others were rotten and the ones in between were food for ants, bees and other insects.

Once our bag was full of apples, we headed to the farm store.  There were chickens, sheep, emus and a pumpkin patch, Darius' favorite!    Enza went in for cider and donuts while Darius got busy testing his strength by lifting pumpkins.  If he could lift it, he held it for a few seconds and put it down.  If he couldn't lift it, he moved on to the next one.  By the time Enza came out with the donuts, he must have lifted about 10 or 12 good sized pumpkins.  Quite a workout for a toddler.  Time for some refreshments.  Darius drank most of my cider as he had worked up quite a thirst.  He did save me a few sips.  Thanks buddy.  Anticipating a tantrum when it was time to leave, standard practice for a 2 year old, we resorted to an old parenting trick.  We bribed him with a donut and left without incident.