Week in Pictures: Picking Apples a.k.a. Ice Cream & Hiking

We went up to Hiram, ME today as part of a yearly sojourn involving apples and a great view of the Saco River without too much huffing and puffing.  The apples this year are really scary looking, we managed to find almost a full bag of okay ones after about forty five minutes of looking… very strange.  They will all go in to pies and sauce, I guess… life is so hard.  😉  Maybe it was the hot summer.  In any case, we rewarded our search with two enormous ‘turtle sundaes’ from the gift shop at Apple Acres.  It was a lesson in patience, mostly because there is no line and the ladies behind the counter are simultaneously making fudge, cider donuts, milkshakes and ringing people up.  It was also a lesson in patience because I’ve found I’m a very busy and impatient city lady… so maybe it was just normal and I’m obnoxiously efficient.

After spooning my weight in fudge, caramel and ice cream in to my foodhole we headed to Mt. Cutler to climb it.  Good idea!!  A short hike, but the ice cream weight really did me in.  I threw my camera, water and car keys in to my old Bean bag and headed up with J.R.  I didn’t complain out loud nearly as much as I was on the inside, but it was well worth the familiar view.

-a.e.h.

Peaches in the Summertime, Apples in the Fall

If I can't have the one I love, I won't have none at all

That’s the boyfriend, about two years ago, picking apples with me at Apple Acres in South Hiram, ME.  We went again, today and apropos to those “Shady Grove” lyrics, there was a bluegrass festival happening at the orchard, and the apple festival in Cornish, ME.

And it was annoying!

The more I’ve come to know myself, the more I love solitude in places that should be solitary (apple orchards, mountains, beaches) and I love streets teeming with people where they should be (cities, lines at city hall, grocery store deli counters).  So, our day trip west to the rolling hills of Hiram turned in to more of an epic walk from a satellite parking lot, a mad dash to get our apples, and a disappointing wait for apple pie in a line that snaked around the gift shop.

15 lbs. of Apples!

Enter:  good news.

The apples we bought (15 lbs give or take) were a LOT cheaper than we were anticipating – so that was good!  And we had a really excellent drive around route 160 through the hills and along the Saco river, which you really can’t shake a stick at.  And I managed to get some awesome shots of apples before my camera’s battery died:

Dangler

Bumper Crop: Everything was pick-able

Cortlands!

 

So now, a few hours later (ohh, just 11:40pm) I have an apple pie in the oven and still, an enormous bag full of apples for various sauce, butter, crisp, salad, sandwich and more purposes.  So despite the crowds and the mad dash for apples we’ve got this year’s supply in hand and have officially begun the ‘summer winding down’ process.  Although it was warm enough today for the beach, I’m already unpacking and folding my autumn sweaters for these excellent, crisp days that are coming our way.