Apple Picking

One of my most treasured seasonal activities is pick-your-own.  In the summer, it's blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, all of which is backbreaking work that promises a sweet reward once you're out of the burn causing sun, and peaches, which always offer more bounty than can be consumed fresh.  In the fall, it's apples and pumpkins, which have always been my favorite.

This year, my apple picking ritual was slightly changed up, as my sister and I took our dad to Pennings Orchard, an amazing apple orchard owned by a friend's family in Warwick, NY.  Unlike many orchards, with their rows of apple trees and not much else to offer save a country store with the same tired, ubiquitous items for sale, Pennings has a community feel.  There was a country store, but also a restaurant, beer garden and chickens, whose eggs are sold locally.  There was also a hard cider made at the nearby Warwick Valley Winery, producer of Doc's Draft ciders.