Apple Picking and other Fall things...

Over Thanksgiving (second weekend in October here in Canada)

we spent the weekend with my mother and her man in Brighton.

Brighton is a fantastic place to be in the fall!

Historically, it's major industry was APPLES!

They have an Applefest celebration in September.

They block off the streets to showcase everything to do with apples.

Naturally, we thought this was the place to go apple picking!

Turns out it was a perfect day to pick apples and

Everyone else had the same idea too!

I love the shapes and colours of fall...every size, shape and colour of squash...

Get them now, for they store really well in a cool room most of the winter!

No hydro required.

The funky blue one is a Blue Hubbard squash...I'm seriously tempted to grow these things!

Of course the pick-your-own farms have the usual silliness for family entertainment...

I do love a good apple pun!

(get it...MACintosh apples...)

We love Macs because they are good for just about anything!

Pies, crisps, freezing, baking or just eating plain.

Cricklewood Farm also offered pick your own pumpkins!!!

But better still...they had PICK YOUR OWN FALL RASPBERRIES!

I had no idea such a thing existed...

So, of course we set out to pick one very large pint!

Super sweet...those cool nights does a berry good.

The last time I was at Cricklewood Farm with Owen, was an equally great weather day.

We did the enormous corn maze which changes every year.

The farm was NOT this busy though...but the staff handled it beautifully.

What a great place to stop and spend an afternoon!!!

Also, a guy showed up driving THIS...I was dying to steal it!

I highly recommend this place if you are even close to the area of Trenton or Brighton Ontario.

Stay tuned on a post dedicated to everything we did with 10lbs of apples!!!

Earth Day 2011

I'd like to tell the tale of our Earth day this year...as a family.  I promise it won't be preachy...or make you feel like you should have done more.  Everything has to have a beginning.  We certainly don't plant forests every year, but after this year...why don't we do it?  It was a great gathering!  What our family experienced was not a usual event, but I certainly hope it becomes one.  It was one of those things that make you feel great on all levels and it happened to be really fun to boot!

Our family drove 3 hours away (there's irony...we burned a lotta gas to get there...but a movement has to start somewhere) to our friends Doug and Traces.  I've known Traces since public school.  


The farmhouse at 6:30am...ready for the day to begin

 They live in Omemee, Ontario.  That's where they operate their business Green Side Up Environmental Services. 

Doug was a guest on this blog recently in the attached link.  Doug recently got a grant from the government to reforest his farm land.  I find it all pretty amazing since not a short while back in Canadian history, our lives depended on clearing such land as fast as humanly possible...by hand.  Times change and here we are putting the trees back in...by hand.  On the eve of Earth Day 2011, we're all excited to get doing the work.   I'm sitting by the fire with good friends in the fresh country night air. 




The nighttime shot had way more beer bottles in it....so I opted for the PG image

 The following morning was a rush of preparing the trees for planting. 


My husband (right) Ches being such a good sport.


Digging out the seedlings and getting them in pots on the trailer.  1500 seedlings to be exact.  They had a ways to go before they would get to their permanent home in the back 55. 

Signs were made and spare rubber boots, gloves and shovels were gathered for the unprepared.  I took turns taking different groups of people to the planting area.  We had several local politicians drop in for the event too.  Two different riders for the Green Party and a local Liberal representative joined in.  We were so fortunate that everyone didn't arrive all at once...as the earlier folks got tired, a new flock of helpers showed up to take up the slack!


Tall and small...all came to help in the field!

 After lunchtime, when most of us had thought we had planted enough...a new bunch showed up and it started all over again.  Everyone planted more trees than Doug could have hoped for and still the volunteers kept coming out of the woodwork!




future xmas trees

 It was an exhausting day of wonderful fulfillment.  Everyone had grins on their faces for what we had accomplished.


Noah and Ches personally planted 75 trees

 The smaller kids were lucky to get all the way back to the planting zone...and for the wee ones, there was still lots to take part in.  My boys were keen to check on the chicken coop.  Noah would come running out with a fresh egg every few hours.  Owen just loved chasing the rooster around the coop...silly boy.



What a handsome fella!

 For those kids who STILL had too much energy...there was a huge trampoline.  Kids of all ages gave it a whirl.



Owen gets some airtime.



Traces had boiled a few dozen eggs and early afternoon the kids got into painting them.  Another friend set up a face painting station!  Owen was an easter bunny...tee hee.  Of course the kitchen was a buzz of coffee and snacks all day long.  The kids spent almost the whole day unplugged and taking in the fresh air.  Burning off calories the old fashioned way. 

All in all, it was one fantastic day.  Mother Earth was kind to us weather-wise.  The kids all pitched in.  The adults really gave it their all.  Now next year....there better be a prize for he who plants the MOST seedlings!

What did you do for Earth Day?  Tell me all about it!