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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Picking Apples

You may recall from this post that our young neighbor, Jimmy, took on our apple tree as a project this spring, pruning it to beat the band, in anticipation of getting the apples from it to make cider this fall. (Actually, I said "applesauce" in the original post, but Doug corrected me later.)

Well, the apples were pretty small this year; and Jimmy's friend who had the cider press didn't get any apples at all on his trees. So the cider-making project was put on hold until next year.

Meanwhile, a young woman and her sister approached Doug one day and asked if they might have this year's apples. Doug told them they could, and they came last week to pick them. They made such a charming picture, as they worked together, that I just had to capture it in photos. I didn't want to spoil the moment by letting them know that I was photographing them, so I did it from our attached garage, shooting through the bug-infested window in the walk-in door.

The little girl would catch the apples in her skirt as her older sister tossed them down to her.

Then she would carefully transfer them to a box.

When they finished picking, they came to the door, bringing a plate of banana bread, with chocolate chips baked in. They had made the bread that morning and brought it as an expression of thanks for the apples. What sweet girls.


9 comments:

  1. Wow.. I feel like we've stepped back in time a bit. Shades of Little House on the Prairie. I know you're in that lovely Amish country. I love that you respectfully avoided photographing their faces straight on. Wonderful shots, Linda.

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  2. Good stuff, Linda. I was going to ask about the Amish connection but I read Hil's response.

    Banana bread with chocolate chips? I'd say that was a pretty fair trade. :)

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  3. What a lovely post. It was very nice of you to share. I am getting anxious to process a few myself, I usually buy a bushel to eat and one to can. I make sliced apples so I can make pie or chunky sauce, whatever i feel like.

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  4. Ruth - Thanks so much. I'm so glad you enjoyed them.

    Hilary - These girls were not part of the Old Order Amish community. But they came out of that background, and they still live a similar lifestyle, except that they use modern conveniences. I don't think they would have been offended by my taking pictures, but I'm afraid it would have made them self-conscious if they had known.

    Frank - That banana bread was definitely a good trade-off; and everything's better with chocolate, you know. :)

    Steve - It wasn't a sacrifice on our part as these apples have traditionally gone to feed horses or yellow jackets. They will come closer to realizing their purpose in the hands of these gals.

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  5. Those are charming! What sweet girls. Nice job capturing the candid moments. :)

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  6. Thank you, Elizabeth. They do seem like sweet girls.

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  7. Such a great photo; a very nice trade...apples for baked goods.

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  8. Thanks, Deb. And I agree about the good trade. :)

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