“Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night; and thus he would never know the rhythms that are at the heart of life.”
~Hal Borland
Autumn has arrived a bit late here in the South due our our unseasonably cool and wet summer. We are just now catching glimpses of color in the trees here in South Carolina, but it is coming, as are the much cooler temperatures and shorter days.
I do love autumn and all of the wonderful traditions and fun our family enjoys together throughout the season!
Of all out traditions, I do have to say visiting an apple orchard with my Momma is my absolutely favorite. It has been a tradition of ours for many years now, one that I had to break last year because of the distance between us. This season I decided, distance was not going to be an issue, so when we discovered an open weekend without football and band competitions we loaded up our car and headed home to Tennessee for the weekend! Our short road trip was full of surprises and so much fun that included spending the day with Momma driving the country backroads of North Alabama to our favorite orchard; Crow Mountain on top of the mountain in Fackler, Alabama.
“Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.”
~Henry David Thoreau
Crow Mountain Orchards, owned by Bob and Carol Deutscher, has been in operation since 1974 and is a must-do highlight of our autumn traditions. It is also very popular among the North Alabama & Middle Tennessee locals as they are packed each and every time we visit!
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| Mr. Deutscher packing up apples |
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| Selecting the best apples with Momma |
One thing I love about Crow Mountain is all the variety that they grow. Of course their biggest crop is the crazy assortment of apples in the fall, but during the summer months they also have peaches.
Also in the fall you might find luscious Asian Pears, Muscadines (these were filling my palm they were so large, and oh so sweet!), and fresh apple cider!
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| I do love to buy local and not imported fruit! |
Even though our day was very overcast and a little drizzly the orchards were still beautiful and brimming with fresh fruit just waiting to be picked!
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| Couldn’t you just eat this right off the tree? |
We purchased delicious Jonathan & MacIntosh apples for their tart flavor just perfect for baking and making apple butter. I also bought two gallons of sweet and tart cider to freeze for a little hot spiced apple cider this holiday season.
I can’t wait!
I do love those country backroads and the beauty of our home in north Alabama. The cotton fields we passed were in full bloom and just captivated me. Usually the cotton has already popped when I make this trip, but with things just a wee bit behind, I enjoyed the beautiful flowers on each plant.
I asked Momma (who grew up picking cotton in Alabama) why the cotton plants had both pink and creamy colored blooms. She told me that the petals change from creamy white to yellow, to pink and finally a dark red before they whither and fall off of the plant, leaving behind the green cotton bolls. All of this happens in just a matter of days so actually catching so many blooms was very lucky!
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| Love the mountains in the background of this beautiful field! |
I have so many plans for my apples…. thinking a pie or two, preserving a few for the winter and at the moment I’m working on apple butter. Honestly, I can’t wait to share my simply scrumptious recipe with you!
My mouth is already watering and I’m craving a hot buttered biscuit with that fresh fruit butter now!
Have a wonderful week!
Fiddle Dee Dee by Jennifer Jones 
What fun to get home! That it involved an apple orchard makes it all the better. I made apple butter this week with apples from an old apple tree. Looking forward to reading more about yours. Mine involved John climbing an apple tree…think I'll post it for the morning. Now we share apple orchards, but I have missed out on cotton fields. Very pretty to see.
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