Apples and Apple Picking

Apple picking and leaf peeping are some of our favorite fall traditions. We have fond memories of these outings with friends and families. We've been to many orchards, and three years ago, the Hilltop Orchards in the Berkshires and Honey Pot Hill Orchard in Stow. There's something to be said about picking your own variety of apples on a beautiful fall day. 

Hilltop Orchard in the Berkshires

You can walk or ride the tractor wagon to the trees

Resistance is futile ... on these yummy apple cider donuts

Pick the apples yourself or buy them from the store

At Honey Pot Hill, the cider donuts were even better than Hilltop's, and the farm animals delighted both kids and adults alike. 

The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions halted our plans to travel up north. We purchased some Cameo apples at the local farm stand and got some Pink Lady apples from our neighbors. A few days later found more apples in my galley, as Ingles, our local supermarket, had a sale on the Honeycrisp variety. What chef or cook can resist a sale on these gems? Normally selling for 3 times the price of other apples, these delicate crispy apples were a steal at $1.29 a pound! After reading this article, I now understand why Honeycrisp apples command such high prices and are so popular.

Honeycrisp apples, cut and in basket
3 Cameo on left, 2 Pink Lady on right

So, on top of the freshly picked gingko nuts and pecans, I have a lot on my plate.  But no worries. I do have a plan on what to do with them apples (looking at you, apple cider and apple turnovers).

fan-shaped leaves on a Gingko tree on a beautiful fall day

Picking Gingko nuts that had fallen on the ground

Washed and dried gingko nuts, pecans in the back

What are your favorite fall activities?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday and My Corner of the World.

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Boating and Hiking in the fall

Recently relatives and friends in New England posted some stunning pictures of fall foliage. It is Columbus Day weekend, the peak of foliage season there. Here in Tennessee, we haven't seen any traces of fall colors yet. Our temperatures dipped to the low 50s last week. Since then, we've enjoyed an entire week of almost perfect fall weather - mid 50s in the morning and at night, low 80s during the day.

Family visiting this week lucked out on the beautiful weather. We hiked, boated and kayaked. Even swam one day! We did a couple of sunset dinner cruises, and one day tied up to the free docks at Shellmound Recreation Area, not far from the Nickajack Dam. There's a boat ramp and an RV campground here too. The water was so calm and peaceful we got a nice reflection of the boat.

Mai Thai at Shellmound Recreation Area

Time to head back to the marina

It's been four years since we last hiked picturesque Lula Lake on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. It's open to the public the first and last weekend of the month, only now you need to make a reservation and pay a fee of $15 plus tax per car. This time we made it down to the bottom of the 120 foot Lula Falls. A tad strenuous down the rocky path, but the adventurous will appreciate the challenge. Great for both kids and adults to burn off some energy!

The mist from the falls was invigorating

Next day, we hiked Fiery Gizzard trail in Tracy City. We used to frequent Foster Falls, but found this trail to be easier and more relaxing. We'd bring our lunch and eat on the rocks listening to the sound of the rushing creek.

We look forward to seeing some nice fall colors in the next few weeks. Have a great weekend, y'all!

This post is shared on Weekend Reflection, Skywatch Friday and My Corner of the World.

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