Yesterday the girls, hubby and I set off apple picking upstate. It was a fun adventure that started out with lots of pope visit-induced traffic, an impromptu lunch at a Brazilian restaurant and, of course, lots of apples! Baby girl, sadly, was a complete disaster on the way home because she hates hates hates the carseat when she’s tired (and of course she was tired!) but in the end it was still a fun and worthwhile trip.
Fall is by far my favorite season. Being a knitter, of course, is a huge reason why… but the other reasons involve chillier weather, which feels so nice after a hot summer, upcoming holidays (including Halloween!) and the gorgeousness of the changing leaves. And I feel like one of the heralds of Fall is definitely Apple season. And apple picking is one of my favorite Fall activities, so there was no way we weren’t going to be doing that as soon as we could!
We went up to Fishkill Farms and it was a lot of fun, though crowded! Really crowded! We didn’t feel like there were too many people around for the picking part since the place is really big, but paying and then getting out took quite a while. The one great thing about them is they have a nice amount of organic apples so we definitely took advantage of those!
One of the things I learned about their apples, even the ones that aren’t 100% organic (they keep pesticides to a minimum even in the non-organic sections), is that they spray them with Kaolin Clay. It helps mask the apples from insects and serves as a natural repellent. Very cool! And it’s why the red apples have a whitish look to them. It washes right off too!
And they had free hayrides, which both the girls enjoyed, though I only got a picture of O on it since A was having too much fun looking out at the world go by to look at the camera.
The girls were so cute picking apples together… A at first didn’t want to do it but would just point at the ones she wanted and O would pick them for her.
Right at the end, though, A went for it and picked one. She was so proud of herself, too! I’m excited for next year when she will definitely be filling up a bag all on her own. 🙂
I hope you’re enjoying the Fall season, if it’s Fall where you are. What are your favorite Fall activities?
How wonderful! I love your photos. The girls look like they had so much fun. I miss apple picking. I grew up in Poughkeepsie, so you were very close to where I’m from. It’s a beautiful area in the fall. I definitely miss real apple-picking in an orchard since I moved to New Mexico; we can’t easily do that here but we do have our own small apple tree which gives us a lot of little apples in some years.
It’s nice that you at least get to pick your own apples, even if you can’t get to an orchard. 🙂
Looks like a great day picking apples. Your girls are so lovely. I have picked a lot of apples in our garden but still have loads more to pick. I really love autumn.
Thank you! Good luck picking your own apples! What are you going to do with them?
So much fun! We have been doing similar apple picking ourselves…Although one bopped me in the head hard last week. Ouch! A very dangerous gathering event.
Ouch! That does sound dangerous. Hopefully it didn’t put you off from apple picking, though. 😉
What a fun day out for your family!! Apple picking and going to the local pumpkin patch is always on our list of family fun for fall along with a couple of hikes before it gets too cold and frosty.
Pumpkins! They had a patch too but we didn’t have a lot of time so didn’t get any. Hiking sounds great in the Fall!
This looks so fun! And the kids look really interested which is awesome! Love your photography! Your style is so beautiful! 🙂
Sounds like a lovely day was had by all!!! Those pictures make me want to go apple picking now. It’s such a lovely way to start the season!
What lovely photos of your girls! They are adorable. Apple picking is just the best! We also love to pick out pumpkins and go on hayrides. Oh, and don’t forget candied apples and hot cider. Plus the haunted train rides and big bowls of soups & chili … I could go on & on … love fall time!