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Ours trees are bursting with apples….
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So what better thing to do on a perfect fall day than bake?
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Deep dish apple pie for dessert. And while I was at it?
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Deep dish chicken pot pie for dinner.
You can’t go wrong with pie.
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We haven’t seen a woodchuck for weeks now.
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And while my flower gardens are sighing in relief…
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I have to admit I miss the fat little buggers.
( note – spellcheck always changes buggers to nuggets… and is that really better? )
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It’s ironic that now the ground is littered with apples from our trees, the apple munchers have left the building.
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This is the fourth year in a row we’ve had a woodchuck family move in.
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So I guess we’ll say so long chuckers.
( which spellcheck changes to chiclets every damn time )
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See you next year.
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Fall.
Autumn in New England.
Cooler temps, brightly colored leaves, pumpkins and yes…
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An abundance of apples from our trees which means….
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It’s time to bake.
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Apple fritter bread.
So damned good.
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I’m going to bore you with more autumn photos.
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Because even walking around the backyard is lovely during this season.
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Blueberry bushes aren’t very attractive most of the year, but the red is pretty striking now.
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And you’ll be happy to know the un-manning of the man cave porch continues… with 5 chrysanthemums and two pumpkins complementing the wreath.
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Apples?
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Our trees are bursting with more than we can use. But why are the best ones always so damned high up?
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After my husband cut the wood and dragged off the small branches from his apple tree butchering….
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We were left with a veritable apple graveyard.
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I filled buckets and totes and gave a large box to our friend but there were still hundreds on the ground.
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I love to bake and will occasionally dehydrate but I’m not a canner. Which means we had too many apples. I tried to gift them to our neighbors but they all have trees loaded with fruit this year as well.
Enter our town’s Facebook page.
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I was immediately flooded with messages and let 3 women come over and harvest the bounty. They all filled big buckets but there was still more on the ground.
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Perfect! The porcine owner showed up with her kids, buckets, totes, bags and a wagon. She totally cleared out the area and I thought how nice… their pet piggy will be happily munching on sweet treats. I asked her to send me a picture of the cutie and sadly realized that little piggy won’t be happy for long.
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*gulp*
I thanked her, but declined the offer. Come on, if you name him? You shouldn’t eat him.
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This isn’t the greatest picture…
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But it’s literally the only one I’ve been able to get of momma and all four of her offspring. (Plus a grey squirrel interloper.)
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And here are the quads…
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Jostling for prime apple position.
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They’re comical to watch.
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And squabble like any other bunch of siblings.
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Two baby woodchucks showed up for apples yesterday. ( we put them out for the deer but these little guys are beating them to it )
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The chuck on the right seemed to be annoying his brother with his close proximity.
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Before long they were squabbling.
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And a sibling scuffle ensued.
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Left woodchuck held his ground, as well as his apple.
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And right woodchuck was forced to step aside.
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Family.
What are ya gonna do?
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Someone needs to invent the technology and WordPress needs to adopt it.
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Because our apple trees are in full bloom and the scent is beyond heavenly.
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I wish the pictures did them more justice.
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The white and pink blossoms really pop in person.
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And from the looks of the quantity, it’s going to be an autumn filled with pie.
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And cobbler, and torte, and crisp, and cake, and muffins…
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Well, you get the idea.
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I came home from the store the other day and stepped up on our kitchen landing.
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Which is when I saw it.
Do you see it?
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Let me give you a hint…
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We hadn’t seen the little red bastards for a while, but it was right there.
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A stolen apple wedge. Prominently placed where I couldn’t help but see it.
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That bitch is taunting me now.
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You know the ones, they pick up every free paper or publication they see no matter the subject?
Proctologist Monthly?
Yes.
Belt Sander Enthusiast?
Sure.
The Do It Yourself Lobotomy Newsletter?
Why not.
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It probably won’t surprise my regular readers to learn my husband is one of those people.
Free is his favorite word.. which is why he came home with one called the Maine Agricultural News the other day.
My husband, the man who’s never planted anything (other than free trees he lets die) in his life.
Here are a few fascinating highlights:
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Color me proud. My state is one of the top 5 potato chip potato producers.
And lord knows I do my part to keep the Lays company in business.
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The Pomological Society? There’s a sought after membership if ever I saw one.
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For those who don’t know, Maine blueberries are highly prized and big business up this way.
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But thanks to President Trump’s Chinese trade war, among other things… the berry news is decidedly blue.
And finally, disaster.
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Say it isn’t so!
Maine craft brewers have cut back on the production of beer to make hand sanitizer?
Oh, the horror.
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