Memories of autumn

In some parts of the country, autumn is when you can smell the crisp of winter in the air, but you do not yet have to shovel snow. Throughout the country, trees are exploding with bright orange. yellow, and red leaves, and once the leaves fall, kids love to kick-walk through them on their way home. There is a chill that calls for sweaters. Days are rapidly shortening. And Halloween candy, costumes, and masks pop up on store shelves right after Labor Day waiting to be chosen. Pumpkins are waiting, too, for someone to give them their own special faces that will shine on the night time parade of tired parents and excited children trick-or-treating door to door.

But long before pumpkins and Halloween, there is apple picking.  Pile the kids in the car, and head out for your favorite apple orchard farm, ask for PYO baskets, and follow the path to an orchard filled with the sweet smell of apples of too many varieties to remember. Take your time, feel the warm sun on your cheeks and the light breeze that just kicked up and ruffled your hair.

Pick the perfect fruits of your favorite apple, add a few new varieties to try - some for baking and some for crunching when you get home. By the time your arms are tired from plucking apples from trees, your basket will be full. As you trudge back to pay for your harvest, you will smile, very pleased with yourself. It is a good feeling for a job well done, and your day is not over yet.

There may be a petting zoo that your kids will love, and that you are not too old to enjoy. Let the lambs and goats nibble your fingers. There may even be a pot-bellied pig or two looking for a hand out. Maybe the farm offers the fun and bumps of an old-fashioned hay ride. Whatever the activities, one thing is sure. There will be a tempting array of freshly-made pies, scones, breads, and rolls; apple cider, locally made jams and jellies along with seasonal vegetables, picked that morning. You will buy a few that are just irresistible.

Tired, but content, kids half asleep in the back seat, you make your way home, listening to your favorite playlist and watching the slowly setting sun cast its glow on the already glittering foliage. The kids have gone to bed. The house is quiet. After a hot shower, snuggled in warm pajamas and too tired to eat, you lean back on your couch, close your eyes and inhale the imagined scent of cinnamon and cloves that waft from the oven and the apple pie that you will make tomorrow. (Next month is plenty of time to be thinking about Halloween.)