An apple a day...

One of our favorite places to go each fall was Freeman’s Apple Orchard out Chimney Rock Road near Hendersonville, North Carolina. It was always a beautiful drive, especially when the trees were beginning to show off their fall colors, and we loved the variety of apples Freeman’s offered.

Unlike many growers around, Freeman's specialized in growing heritage varieties, and would often attach the histories of many of their apples to their crates of apples. I remember there was one apple that Thomas Jefferson grew and another, the Delano Rome, that Freeman’s developed themselves. We usually just loaded up a peck bag with a variety and enjoyed mixing the apples when we made apple sauce or a pie or just grabbed one for a snack.

A year ago we found that Freeman’s had sold the orchard to another family. We understand. Having an orchard these days, especially as you age, is no easy task. Workers are hard to find and the weather can be your best friend or your worst enemy. We were happy that the Freemans found a buyer for their orchard so that they could enjoy their retirement.

But the new orchard is not the same. This year we have made an effort to find some other orchards to satisfy our love of apples.

We did discover a wonderful orchard that grows Asian Pears. It was our first time eating an Asian Pear (It is round like an apple but tastes like a pear) and the folks at the orchard were friendly and helpful. They have over 5,000 pear trees and they will provide you with all the tools you need to pick your own, including a wagon to haul them back to the farm shed and then your car.

We have a plethora of apple orchards in our area; almost all of the apples sold in North Carolina come from Hendersonville, NC. We hope to visit many of them in the years to come.

We went to Waynesville, NC yesterday to the renowned Barber Orchard. They had bins filled with beautiful apples, baskets filled with peaches and a beautiful selection of pears (not the Asian variety). Different varieties of apples are sold when they are harvested throughout the fall. They also had long tables of fresh produce from their farm gardens and a bakery that boasted a long line of customers.

They are famous for their Apple Cake but we didn’t sample that this visit. We did enjoy a nice haul of goodies—Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies, Apple Fritters, an Apple Turnover and my husband’s favorite, Apple Cider Donuts. You can also get an apple slushie (or a pear one) which is delicious and guaranteed to cause a few moments of brain freeze.

The best part of their bakery is that they don’t used canned apple products but actually use real apples that they grow at the orchard. I think we will be heading back to Waynesville in the near future for another apple (and bakery) haul.

Now I know that this doesn’t help you much if you don’t live in the Asheville, NC area and I know many of my blog readers don’t live nearby. But check around. Find the orchards that ARE near you. Maybe it’s not an apple orchard but an orange grove. Or maybe it fields of blueberries or strawberries. Many places today let you pick your own or purchase the fruit already picked and ready to go.

We now have an ample supply of apples on our counter as well as a bulging crisper bin in the refrigerator. The woman at the Asian Pear orchard told us that the pears would last until Christmas if we put them in the crisper bin of the refrigerator and the same seems to be true with apples.

Growing up one of my favorite Disney cartoons was the one about Johnny Appleseed. I also remember reading a children’s biography about John Chapman (the real Johnny Appleseed). I still love to use the song from that animated film as a blessing—or just a fun tune to sing. Here’s the version I usually sing and what follows is a YOUTUBE version of the song from the 1948 film:

Oh the Lord is good to me

And so I thank the Lord

For giving me

the things I need

the sun the rain and the apple seeds

The Lord is good to me.