Ok, here we go!  The orchard will open for the season this Saturday, August 31 from 10-3 and Sunday, September 1, from 12-3.  If we sell out for the day, we may close earlier.  I have said for awhile now that the season for us will be a short one, so if you want fresh apples, then dont wait too long.  We will be picking State Fair and Zestar this weekend.  State Fair is more of a tart apple and the Zestar is alittle more sweet.  Both are great on their own and are good for eating or making just about anything you like. 

With alittle over a week to go, things are starting to ripen up.  I tried a State Fair this morning and its still tart, but the seeds are beginning to turn.  When the seeds turn brown to dark black, thats means its time.  That and the taste.  The Zestar need alittle more time, so lets hope they will be ready by next weekend.  Early on we are going to try and be open on Sunday and see how the supply holds out.  We may have to close early depending on how busy we are.  If you are thinking about it, dont wait too long. 
  We also finished extracting our first batch of honey today and it looks and taste great!  There is nothing better than fresh local honey.  Last year, we ran out about the end of September, so again, if you like fresh honey then dont wait.  I will be keeping the website up to date on a weekly basis or more often if need be, so if you are thinking about coming to the orchard this fall, just check in here.  See you soon!

The orchard will be opening for the fall season on Saturday August 30 at 10am.  Because of the size of the crop this year our hours will be Saturdays only from 10-3 or until we sell out.  This has been a different year for us.  We had a hard winter followed by a late and cold spring, topped off by a hard frost on June 13.  The trees were already behind by 2-3 weeks when we got the late frost.  Because of all this we have apples on about 20% of our trees.  In all the years that we have grown apples, we have never had this happen before.  After talking to a few other growers, I found out we were not alone.  Most of the trees survived and will hopefully do better next year.  The entire orchard is 2-3 weeks behind and that is why we are opening later than usual.  All you can do is take it in stride and keep moving!  It will get better and of that I have no doubt!!
  On the brighter side, the bees survived the winter and did very well this summer.  We will be pulling honey off the hives starting next week and hope to have it ready by the end of August.  Right now the bees are working Golden Rod.  Like most wild flowers, it has good years and bad.  This year seems to be a good one.  The honey has a very good flavor, but then I think that all honey has a good flavor.  The season is just about here and Ill be sure to keep things up to date with the website.