Monday, March 18, 2013

Love Creek 2012

It’s one of my favorite traditions, going to Love Creek Orchards. We went on a Monday, with a forecast of possible rain. It turned out to be perfect weather, and no crowds.  A few families joined us, which always makes it way more fun. And we learned more this time.
Charlie and Griffin chose to clothe the alien scarecrow. And Mathis joined in for fun.
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Kyriel (and Chandler) in the hay maze.
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I love watching the Jones boys fight over their youngest brother. It’s absolutely adorable.
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The bigger boys would rather jump off hay than walk through it.
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Younger ones followed suit…
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Kira with Kyriel.
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Kira makes motherhood look easy. She’s pregnant with Kaedric here, too. What a sport!Winking smile
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Mom and the boys loved throwing a stick into the pond to watch this retriever go after it.

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At music time, Charlie discovered his love for the harmonica. He purchased one with his Christmas money and has been practicing.
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A view of our crew.
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Jina and Alyssa.
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It was too cold for the baby chicks to be out at the petting zoo, but the sheep was enough for Chandler.
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The donkey was quite friendly, and the boys returned to feed him many times.
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Of course, there’s always a photo opp.
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Granny McMillan apples?
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You know Chandler, it’s all about the food.
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Pregnant but powerful Kira, pushing a tag along in addition to her own two.
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And finally – the lessons learned: We took the tour and learned about how they produce the apples.  They graft the gala tree with the trunk of a dwarf apple tree, so they can pick directly off the tree without a ladder. We have great climate here for apple-growing, so they riped on the tree before they are picked, and then shipped around Texas. Because of the on-the-tree ripening, they have the highest sugar content of any gala in the U.S.  The apples that come from, say, Washington farms, were picked up to 2 years before and kept in a special environment to slow their riping process before they go to the store. Isn’t that crazy?  I think I’ll stick to “Top of the World” apples from Love Creek from now on.  And other locally produced fruits and veggies as well….
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