Apple Pickin'

One thing I have learned to do and love since joining the Petrey clan is to can/freeze food for the winter. Usually I do peach and strawberry freezer jam, can green beans, freeze peaches, make and freeze applesauce, and freeze corn. Last year we had a late frost that killed a lot of the produce and with us building and living with Karen and Winston temporarily I didn't do much. However, this year the harvest is plentiful and I am more than excited and grateful.
Last Wednesday Molly found out from a friend about a fellow in Boone who was looking for people to pick the transparent apples he had from several trees in his yard. Now, from what I've been told transparent apples are the best to make applesauce with because they create such a smooth texture. He and his mother had already put up 62 quarts of applesauce and his trees didn't even look like they'd been touched! In come the Petrey's. We all met at his house Thursday evening and picked apples (actually the men, namely Winston, did the picking). I did not get a picture of the back of Karen and Winston's Suburban but let me tell you that it was full! We took a big bucket and a crate home to work up. Thankfully, apples don't have to be worked up immediately because I had also gotten a second bushel of green beans to do that day (beans have to be done pretty quickly).
Needless to say, the girls had a wonderful time eating apples that had fallen and running around on the spacious yard our new friends have. We had a wonderful time getting to know this mother and son and are very thankful for their sharing!

Mary Fran and Grandmama. Mary Fran would take a bite and say, "Mmm, this good, mommy!"
Evie showing a "baby apple" she found. Yes, we took extra special care of it. :)

Thursday, Friday, and the rest of the weekend proved to be busy but very good. All in all, I canned 21 quarts of green beans, have a sackful of beans frozen, and made 25 quarts of applesauce. This is so wonderful because we will be eating on all this through the winter and will have plenty for Ward when he is ready for baby food!