Two sentences because I am feeling too "Hulk" to type.

We should have planted poison apples.

Evan immediately suggested fried chicken.

An apple a day...

Our apples are growing and I can smell them as I walk by. It makes me smile. If you've ever smelled apples on trees, then you know the smile I'm talking about. It's not forced. It's a smile that you didn't even realize was there until someone says, "Why the smile?". It's a good feeling that warms you through and through. I grew that. I grew that apple. It took three years. It's finally here, and I welcome it with a smile. 

Getting there

Here's our apple tree. It is getting bigger and a little out of control. It sprouted after our pruning time, so we're going to wait before giving it the chop. I'll have to tie some down to keep it's shape.  I just hope we have apples next year! 

How do you like them apples?

A very promising sight! 

This week in photos

Thank you to those who contacted me about not receiving pictures this week.  I love you too!  My excuse...I am lazy. My phone was full and I needed to upload the photos. The computer was dead, so it needed to be plugged in. I was lazy, and didn't do either until about Saturday night. I've also been really busy. We had a great volleyball tourney on Saturday (2nd place finish, go Dolphins!), taught at church Sunday, Seahawks game Sunday, and youth symphony Sunday (thank you Danielle!).  It's been crazy!  I'm ready for some turkey and a nap! 🍗😴

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well, and enjoy the photos from last week!

Bri'Anna 

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Here are three nice sized salmon from fishing with Steve. We baked one whole fish. I used a brown sugar rub on one half and a jerk rub on the other. The girls passed on the sweet and gobbled down the savory. They also drank about a gallon of milk to offset the spicy flavor too! Hahaha 

The rabbit hides hanging to dry in the shed. I think he set up a gear lamp to speed it up since the stench was awful and would probably attract unwanted critters. 

Here is what was left of the apples. I meant to make apple sauce, but decided on cider instead. This made about 1.5 quarts. No much, but I can't complain about free apples! 

They are back in the house tonight to finish drying (not sure why they are still hanging since I thought they were already dried. I do know Andy stretched them. He 'hulked' a few in half as he stretched them out, and I was asked to mend them back in one piece once they were all done. 

I'm still mourning the loss of my Donna. :( 

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Apple pie in a can.

Thought I would listen to Granmo when she suggested I can apple pie filling. I thought it sounded way too good to be true- pour, heat, and serve! Too tasty and delicious to be healthy that's for sure! Can't wait to try it out. Thank you Granmo! 

Bottoms up!

With an abundance of apples, I decided to make apple cider.  Without a cider press, I endured a time consuming process of making said cider. 

I chopped the apples, juiced them and then overheated the juicer!  It took a while for the juicer to want to work for me again, but it took a rest and kept on juicing!  After juicing, I hand-strained every drop through cheesecloth.  The end product was worth the mess and the time and the hassle. 

Look at that jug! I cannot wait to add a few cinnamon sticks and heat that juice up! What a delicious trick or treating beverage for the whole family to enjoy.  

Golden Delicious

When life hands you (FREE) apples, make applesauce!!

No Anjou!

Looks like the Donnas feasted this week! Seems as though we may not be enjoying Anjou or Bartlett pears this year. I suppose that is another lesson to be learned...Do not procrastinate when it comes to protecting your crops with netting. This could have been prevented. I think our apples may have a little bit if life left, but we need to hustle to protect those too!
Sly little birds!

A good sign.

We have leaves and buds growing on our pear tree and apple tree! It is such a beautiful sight to see when you waltz through the backyard. I knew they would grow, but until I saw leaves, there was a lingering feeling of possible failure! Not this time. Not these trees. They are perfect! They will not bear fruit for a couple more years, but just seeing leaves gives me a growing sense of accomplishment. Evan picked them out with the dream of walking into the backyard for a piece of fresh fruit for her own lunch box. What a great dream to have! Wish us luck!

Espalier (Es-pal-ee-ay)

This is our orchard!
On the left you will see our FIVE varieties of pears, and on the right, SIX varieties of apples! And you thought it was just the two trees!
I have learned to never doubt Andy's craftiness!