Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Apple picking at cousin Ian's


Every year for the past few years we have made an annual pilgrimage to cousin Ian's orchard in the hills. We like to combine apple-picking with this reminder of family history."remember boys this was your Nana's father's orchard and his father's before them. I wonder when Nana was a little girl if she picked blackberries here in this gully just like we are now. What kind of apples do you think were her dad's favorite when he was a little boy. Imagine going to sleep with your five brothers in the loft above the barn like he did(his eight sisters slept in the house). How tall do you think these pine trees were then?" We found a rope swing...the best apples to pick today were Fuji and golden delicious. Master T said he likes eating golden delicious just off the tree. They tasted as good to him fresh as his favorite pink lady apples! But lets not forget we were on a quest. Where was the tree of democrat apples? Have you tried these? They are a purply red with a tough-ish skin but are juicy and excellent keepers. They were popular before refrigeration because they were such good keepers. But these days...well just try asking for them at your local fruit and veg! We had just about given up, Master T again had taken the camera and gone exploring while the rest of us lazed...what a great place to just sit an orchard is...when our scout returneth with an apple and behold it was a democrat. Much laughter from cousin Ian when we told him we had photographed the tree so we would know where to find it next time!










2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds as if you had a wonderful day, and no, I've never tasted democrat apples.

The photos are excellent, too. I especially liked the one of the toothless boy!

Mary said...

Is that you? Is that really, really you?

You go girl!