Picking Apples

There are few activities that bring to mind the sights, smells, tastes and overall "feel" of autumn as picking apples.  The apple, wonderful fruit that it is, was one of the earliest tree fruits to be cultivated.  It is thought to have originated in Western Asia.  Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as symbols of forbidden fruit - which is ironic considering how widely apples are used as everyday food.

There is a real crispness to the air this last week of September.  The outside temperature has dropped from a high of 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) last week to 14 Celsius (57 Fahrenheit).  It is indeed still pleasant, but there is a distinct chill and I'm wearing a sweater even as I sit indoors.  But as I was taking a morning walk with a friend late last week, it was clear that harvest efforts are beginning in earnest, and particularly harvests related to apples.  Here, for example, are the kinds of crates that are used to contain the apples that have been picked.

This interestingly-looking piece of equipment is more often used to work in the vineyards, but it is clearly dual-purpose, as here.  It will take the empty crates to where they are needed,

drop them at strategic points, and return with the filled crates to be loaded into a truck waiting nearby.

I had noticed, while walking earlier in the week, that the apples were clearly changing colors.  So I brought my camera with me on this walk in order to get some photos before the apples were all gone.

Some apples had changed color much faster than others.  Being somewhat apple-growing-challenged, I had no idea as to whether it was because the apples were of different species or simply that some apples had matured more quickly.

The apples themselves are picked by hand, with care taken not to bruise them accidentally.  This particular crew looks very cheerful, considering that picking apples is hard manual labor.

The pickers even have to climb ladders to reach the apples that are on high branches.

The spectacle had some attentive watchers in addition to my walking companion and me.  A nearby mare and her foal

were obviously hoping to get at least a taste of any windfalls.