October 11, 2025

Today in the orchard

I took our large cider press down to Portland’s Mt. Joy Orchard for their annual community cider-pressing event. It’s a family event, and all the cider is given away to whoever shows up with a jug or a bottle or a cup. There’s no visible organization, and yet everything gets done with perfection. Apples get ground up, buckets are filled with pomace, cider gets pressed, funnels appear, and vessels of various sizes and shapes get filled. No one was counting, as far as I know, but I’d say there were a hundred attendees at one point or another and many gallons were distributed or consumed on the spot.