Adventures in Apple Picking

One of our favorite Fall traditions is apple picking.  It's easy for the whole family to participate in, is fairly quick, is in a cute location and we all really enjoy it.  We have a favorite spot that we've been going to for years - Ditzler Orchard in Rosedale, IN.  It's about 25 minutes away and the drive through the country is really pretty.

Thanks to a very late frost in May, the apple picking season was greatly impacted.  Instead of allowing apple picking any day of the week from August through October, they are only offering u pick on the weekends.  The apple selection is much smaller than previous years, but that didn't stop us from having a great time.  Usually we have 3-4 apple varieties to pick from.  This year they had two rows of trees and only one type of apple - Golden Delicious - open for picking.  Kevin and I were a little bummed, but you know what, the kids did not even notice.  They didn't complain.  They had the best time.  I need to be more like them.

We woke up Saturday morning and headed off to the orchard.  No one got car sick and no one cried or complained.  Big wins for our family.  The weather was breezy with a slight chill in the air.  Fall perfection!

The nicest family runs this orchard.  They were still giving tractor rides, had tons of pumpkins, mums, yummy treats and apple goodies.  The staff were wearing masks, Kevin wore a mask in the store to pay and the rest of us stayed outside, kept our distance and did not wear masks.  It worked out great.

The big kids each got an apple basket to fill along with instructions on how to pick the very best apples - rough surface = sweet apple.  Smooth surface = not quite ready.

I was really surprised that Leo was interested in the apple trees.  He loved touching the apples and brushing the leaves with his hands.  An older lady commented that even the baby loved apple picking.  It was a really sweet bunch of firsts for him - tractor ride, apple picking, orchard visit and pumpkin patch.

The kids loved the tractor ride.

When we told Olive we were going apple picking she said, "I've got the perfect dress for apple picking!"  She was right.  I love this dress on her.

I wore Leo in the Ergo and he was a happy camper.

We decided it was too early to grab pumpkins, but that didn't stop us from scoping them out.

Pink pumpkins!?!  They were so pretty.

Popsicle pumpkins according to Fletcher.

We'd love to make it back to the orchard another time or two before apple season is done.  We'll definitely head back to pick out pumpkins once October gets here.

Do you have any orchards near you?

What are your favorite apple recipes - please share them with me in the comments because we have a ton of apples to eat!