Apples!

The RFC took its second annual apple picking trip to Carter Mountain near Charlottesville last week, and how lucky were we!! We estimate that we walked away with enough pounds of apples to equal a whole new member of the RFC. Shannon and I were mad pickers, in love with the beauty and promise of the fruit on the tree, willing to take every single one home with us. Alas, apples are heavy, so we had to pick in shifts, taking a break to carry our loot to the car. Natalie, on the other hand, is a much more reserved and reasonable apple picker- she only took a limited number of each type of apple. I envy her restraint.


Besides the beauty and the promise of apple turnovers long into the winter, the best thing about Carter Mountain is their apple cider doughnuts. They used to have a pipe hooked up to the venting system which would pump out the (insert your favorite superlative here) smell of the fresh doughnuts, which was heavenly, but highly distracting. This year we ate the oh- so- lovely doughnuts after a long hard hour or two of apple picking. So good.


Carter Mountain has a gorgeous, relaxed atmosphere, with lovely views and relatively easy paths. I even got to take my giant dog, Clyde along on the adventure. On our visit, the second weekend of November, we chose to pick Stayman, (perfect for cooking) Fuji, (great eating and cooking) Winesap, (great for cooking) and Pink Ladies, (great for eating). There were many more, including Golden Delicious, available to pick that day. To see what you can pick this week, check out the Carter Mountain website. Have fun!