Today in the orchard
Not much warmer today with more rain by evening. Cammy and I packed up the truck with ladders, picking buckets and boxes and returned to The Apple Farm to pick Ashmead’s Kernel, Roxbury Russet, Kingston Black and Hudson’s Golden Gem. These are trees I grafted there almost twenty years ago. The trees are tucked away in a corner of the orchards where they often go unnoticed. Steve mentioned that they weren’t planning to pick the fruit so it seemed like it would be worth grabbing them before it’s too late. Steve even gave us a hand with the picking. The season there is nearly over.
From Fairfield we traveled south to Gardiner where we attended an apple and cider tasting at a tiny bar/restaurant called “Table Bar.” The place was packed. Zack Kaiser of Absolem Cider, Bill Mullen the NY apple photographer and I shared the stage (corner) where we traded stories about apples and cider. Zack brought three single-varietal ciders—Ashmead’s, Northern Spy, and Harrison—and I provided the fruit. We passed out plates of cut up apples and then followed each round with a pouring of the corresponding cider. In between we told stories and answered lots of questions. If you haven’t been to Table Bar, give it a visit. It was started by a group of friends who wanted a place to share conversation, food and drink with each other and the local community. An evening there feels like hanging out in your neighbors’ living room - familiar, comfortable, lively and you don’t have to clean up when everyone leaves.