Little did I know.

I ran across this photo the other night while looking through my Facebook photos.   It had the caption, "It looks like I have my work cut out for me today."

When I saw this, I was blown away at just how much has changed since then, and on so many levels.

This was my apple harvest on Blayde.  I was so proud of my bounty.  Look how big and juicy and delicious those apples look!  Andy and I planted the apple tree when we first built the home in 2006, so this was a huge success to have kept it alive while I experimented with pruning over the years.  I was a novice (I still am) and searched the internet for guidance constantly to make sure I was caring for this tree correctly.  These 2 bushels of gorgeous apples was proof that I had succeeded!

I was also slightly overwhelmed with that amount of apples.  What would I do with all of them?  Surely we couldn’t eat them all before they went rotten.  After, again, searching online I decided to set aside as many as I thought we would eat and I made apple pie filling with the rest.  I think I got about 8 pints.  Again, success! 

Little did I know, this was only the beginning.  Take a look at the apples I harvested from my tree on Lincoln just 2 years later...

We got so much more than a cozy home in a prime location surrounded by incredible people when we moved to Lincoln, we also got what I view as one of the greatest gifts God has given us.  His creations.  Mr. Weight, the previous owner, spent countless hours for nearly 50 years caring for the fruit trees and the land.  I have so much gratitude to him for the way his efforts have blessed my life.  You will hear more about him another post.

See me up there in the tree?  

I climbed the tree to pick the apples that were ripe.  Well, this is a very large tree and most of the branches are more vertical then I'm comfortable with so it’s not super easy to climb.  In an effort to save lots of time and quite possibly my life, I decided to shake the apples down.  It was awesome.  

This is what I ended up with in mid September. 

 These apples were pretty tasty.  Even Dallas was enjoying them on a daily basis!

I harvested nearly this much again before the frost came.  

What did I do with all those apples?!  We ate as many of them as we could, and then I made apple juice and applesauce.  A lot of it.  Like, a LOT.  And it’s SOOOOO delicious.  

This was my only casualty.

 

I can't decide if I was more sad about losing the applesauce or about the jar.  I have become quite attached to the jars.

I made a few apple pies as well.  Want the recipe?  Leave me a comment and maybe, just maybe, I'll post the recipe.  :)  It's seriously the best pie ever created by anyone.  Ever!

Can you see why I thought it was interesting that two bushels seemed overwhelming just 2 years ago?  I bottled at least thirty bushels last season, and I can't wait to do it again!  
This is so symbolic of many aspects of my life since then. 

Do you see symbolism in the little things of life?

How 'bout them apples?!

I love the summer. I have always loved being outside, swimming, the smell of sun screen and chlorine soaked swim suits, freshly cut grass and lavender, water parks, lemonade stands, slurpee runs, boating. Because of my love for summer, I have never looked forward to autumn because it meant that summer was coming to a close and winter was just around the corner. I don't like much about winter.

Over the years, I have learned to love autumn because of a few traditions we have started in our family. One of the traditions has started a bit earlier this year. It feels like autumn already, and the apples on my apple tree were just about ready, so I made my traditional apple pie. Maybe I'm biased, but I have to say that this is the best apple pie you can find! So Yummy!!!

I got the recipe for this delicious pie at an Enrichment night early in our marriage and have been baking it ever since. This is one of my favorite things about fall. I like it best right out of the oven, still bubbling, with some vanilla ice cream on the side. If you haven't tried it, you are really missing out, and we'll have to have you over for a taste! Bon appetit!