Fall is here (well, sort of)

Posted on Sep. 7, 2008 at 7:45 PM - Post Comment

Though the weather around these parts has still been quite summery (OK, it has been downright HOT), we have been trying to conjure up the spirit of fall.  So mixed in with many continued trips to the pool, I decided to take Grady to pick apples (and peaches) on Friday.  We went with Grady's friend, Berit, who is a month older.  It was a beautiful morning - sunny and not yet hot.  We headed towards the mountains as I tried to explain to Grady what we would be doing.  He knows about apples, of course, so I told him that they grow on trees, and we were going to go see where they grow!  And then I told him we could pick them off the tree!  So that had him all excited - he chanted "apple picking" (in a super cute way I can't convey through writing) the rest of the way.

The orchard was in a beautiful area, and we were the only ones there.  It was very nice because both the peach and apple trees had plenty of low branches with fruit that Grady could reach.  Of course, being SUCH a boy, he was fascinated with the ones that had dropped to the ground and were rotting.   He would reach a chubby little finger out to poke at one, and then jump back, each time surprised at the mushiness.  He started calling them "yucky apples" and would point them out again and again.  He did, however, also pick some fruit off the trees, and seemed to have a fabulous time.  We even got to eat an apple with our lunch as soon as we got home!  He had a big smile on his face as he chewed up the crisp, sweet fruit.

Some pictures of our visit to the orchard:

Look at that boy - basket in one hand, picking with the other!

Oooh - yucky apple!

And wouldn't you know, as we listened to Grady talk himself to sleep that night, what do we hear amidst his ramblings, but a whole discussion of "yucky apples"