Fall Fruits

The kids are really getting into the rhythm of their new school routine. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to school. However we are increasingly getting a bit lazy about leaving enough time to get there. Now that the time has changed I see no reason not to get there ON TIME!!

Yellow plums, pears and a few apples from the urban forest.

can't you just taste these?!

I have had a wonderful time this fall searching out urban fruits for picking and preserving. I found pears (and made awesome dried pears with them) and yellow, little reddish and Italian plums (in the freezer waiting for cobblers) and a few concord grapes. Most recently I have acquired a whole wallop of beautiful Macintosh Apples. We have daily been passing (4 times a day for me!) a yard with 3 little apples trees on our way to school.  One tree had yellow delicious which didn't look too healthy. One tree looked barren and the other was the prize MacIntosh tree. I was watching the apples drop to the grass with no signs of them being used or appreciated in any way. Last week after I picked up the kids I got up the nerve to knock on the door to ask about the apples. The old man who answered said that they weren't going to use them and that we could have as many as we wanted. He said they hadn't sprayed them so they were probably full of bugs. I thought "HUZZAH- no spray"!!! They were gorgeous, hardly any worm evidence, no huge bruises (they were landing on mossy grass) and only a few holes where some buggy friends had taken their fare share. I took as many as I could in the bottom of the stroller. When I got home I determined to go back the next day to gather the rest of the good ones. That I did!!!
I filled a 20 lbs tomato box with my apples. I am very pleased.