Toads-in-the-Hole

Oh joy for the harvest! We have been anxiously waiting for the autumn air to turn chill, for the leaves to begin to crunch, and for Wilson’s Apple Orchard to open their gates!

We snagged our favorite snacking apple, Honeycrisps, from the tippy-top of the lush trees, but also bagged two new varieties, Prairie Spy and Luna Red. Chosen for their great names, but also intended to marry their respective tart and sweet flavors in a homemade apple tart.

The morning was fresh, warm, and bright. We pranced through the beautiful orchard and plucked choice specimens from trees.

Giggly games of hide-and-seek quickly (d)evolved into our new game: Quarterback Sack. Adelaide and I invented the game the previous Sunday watching poor Aaron Rodgers get sacked by the Chicago Bears defense. It’s a simple game: Player One shouts “Hut One! Hut Two!” and then throws the ball (real or imaginary) at Player Two. Player Two catches the ball (real or imaginary), and then Player One tackles Player Two while screaming, “Quarterback Sack!” Adelaide loves this game. She especially loves to be Player One.

After a working up an appetite playing Quarterback Sack among the trees, we hiked back to the barn to settle up and pay for our rosy-cheeked loot. We supported our local farmers by buying 20 apples, a kid-sized t-shirt, a woodcut print, and a freshly-baked apple turnover. We settled down under a tree on an orchard-facing slope, munched our PB&J picnic lunch, Honeycrisps and still-piping-hot turnover.

Above photo courtesy of Adelaide.