Apple-licious

There hasn't been a week that's gone by since Labor Day weekend that I haven't made a run out to Ski-Hi Fruit Farm to buy a bag of apples.  The weather was more cooperative this year, so the supply has been abundant and the types of apples diverse.  We've tried numerous kinds of apples this year, most recently settling on Empires and Tolman Sweets.  The Empires have been large and ruby red, while the Tolman Sweets are slightly smaller and yellow in color.  There are still a few Granny Smiths in the refrig and a stray Macoun, Spartan or Honey Crisp in the wood bowl on the kitchen counter.  I can't imagine autumn without Ski-Hi Fruit Farm.  I grew up on Highway 12, just a stone's throw northwest of Ski-Hi, so going there is like going home for me.  I head out of town on Highway 123, taking the little fork onto one of my favorite roads (it's best to play classical music while on this stretch because they just seem to go together).  Then, at the corner near where Harold and Ruth Martin used to have their farm, you take a right and ascend the hill to Ski-Hi.  And sky-high it is.  From there, one gets a breathtaking view of the Baraboo Bluffs and a side view of the orchard and its apple-laden trees.  Some of my late mother's ashes were spread near there, so being at Ski-Hi also feels as if I'm near Mom.  Although Ski-Hi closes today till apple season next year, I will carry with me the happy memories of my weekly visits, the rich aroma of every apple I bought and the delicious crunchy taste of every apple I munched.  Those memories add to the tapestry of reasons why I'm grateful to live right where we do. 

Apple Season Has Arrived

Larry and I started driving by Ski Hi Fruit Farm about three weeks ago.  I was getting antsy for apple season to begin.  The sign said that the first crop would be ready Labor Day, so on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, my friend Kitty and I ventured onto Ski Hi Road.  It was still quiet at the orchard store, with Paula Reds and Ginger Golds for sale.  I heard a clerk tell a customer that if she called the orchard's number, she'd hear a message telling which varieties of apples were available each week of the season.  I happen to like Macoun and McIntosh apples best, but will buy just about any variety, for they all have their virtues.  Biting into a Paula Red grown right at Ski Hi was a treat beyond measure.  I grew up near Ski Hi, so anytime I head there, I feel as if I've gone home.  And every time I bite into one of their delicious apples, I recall a lifetime of memories of juicy, sweet and tart goodness.  Ah!  Apple Season has arrived!

Picture Perfect

My good friend Kitty and I ventured to Ski Hi Fruit Farm one recent Saturday to take in the joys of our favorite apple orchard.  We were not alone.  Patrons of all ages were inside the orchard's main building. Kitty and I joined others who were enjoying all things apple outside -- drinking cider, eating apples and munching on a cider donut or two. We selected a prime seat at one of the picnic tables in the bright Saturday sunshine, positioned so you could easily gaze at the spectacular Baraboo Bluffs, which were getting ready to turn fall colors.  With the prevalence of phones with cameras, parents were taking photographs of their children all around us. Each was a picture perfect:  Kids climbing on boulders, kids eating caramel apples, kids hugging other kids.  It was carefree and fun -- just what you'd like a Saturday morning in autumn to be all about.