Apple Picking

After spending the past few days being sick with a fever, I was ready to get out and stretch my legs.  Today was my annual trip to the apple orchards to pick the fresh harvest of apples ready for pies, crumbles, apple butter, apple bread, and a sweet treat to look forward to in my lunches. 

This year Steve and I decided to go to Hollin Farms in Delaplane, Virginia.  It’s about an hour’s drive West of D.C. and a great place to go for a change of scenery from the usual hubbub of the city.

When you get out into farm country around here, there are a few things that stand out immediately.  Unlike California’s yellow-gold fields, the fields here are a rich green.  We get a lot of rain even during the Summer months and the sunshine is plentiful making for very happy foliage, happy cows, happy bugs, happy everything!  There’s even been the occasional beaver and brown bear off the side of the road to catch you by surprise.

Hollin Farms sits up on a hill and you have to hike a bit to get to the fruit and veggie picking, but it’s well worth it because when you get to the top, you have spectacular views of the valley and holler below.  In fact, the last time I was here with my friend Heather, we sat at the edge of the hill and ate a picnic lunch admiring what lay before us after we had finished gathering zucchini, potatoes, and raspberries.  It was another perfect day like today.

For picking, there were a large assortment of apples to choose from: Jonagold, Daybreak Fuji, Golden Delicious, Empire, and Idareds.  We even picked some asian pears- which I never knew grew here in these parts of the U.S.  Fresh eggs from the hen house, squash, broccoli rabe, turnips, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins (rows and rows of beautifully ripe orange globes) were plentiful too.

Within an hour of arriving, our wagon and bags were full.  We were ready to hit the road and get back home to begin making some of our Fall favorites.  

Now I can't wait for pumpkin picking in October up in Maryland and will be sure to share that adventure in the next few weeks.