gone apple pickin'

Me and the fam' went apple picking this weekend. We've gone with my brother and his family in Connecticut but never on our own here in Massachusetts. And it seemed like a good New England autumn thing to do. I'm told the best time to go is mid-October, so we were a few days late but there was still some good pickin' to be had. We tossed a few apples from about five or six different varieties into a couple of bags with the intention of eating a few and baking the rest into a delicious pie. I'd forgotten which varieties were which by the time we got home, though, so the pie is sure to be an interesting (and hopefully tasty) mix...that Neal, not me, will be baking, of course.


For this apple pickin', we drove about an hour north to Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Mass., close to the New Hampshire border. The farm offers a hay ride of sorts to where the apple trees are, pumpkins, raspberries (and other produce at other times of the year, I assume), and a store/bakery where you can get hot apple cider, apple cider donuts, pies, pumpkin butter, etc. But no bathrooms, just porta potties. Overall, it was a good time but I'm not sure it was totally worth the drive. I'd probably try for a closer orchard next time.