How Do You Like Them Apples?

Field Notes II.XLIV: Family time at an apple orchard in late October

Welcome to Field Notes!

A chill is in the air as autumn hits its full stride. Ok, truthfully it has been an unseasonably hot fall, so a chill breeze would be welcome now and then. But, the leaves are changing, the daylight is fading, and it feels like flannel season!

The problem is that THEY do not care. THEY. It is the nebulous ‘other’ making demands of money, time, and attention. THEY demand you to work overtime and then require mandatory training outside of your normal working hours beyond that. Even with the overtime money, life is paycheck to paycheck. THEY suck those hours of overtime pay away through automatic withdrawals from bank accounts every month. THEY have made us believe those services, those indulgences, are necessities. THEY want us emotionally invested in news and divisive politics that ultimately have little impact on our day-to-day. THEY become so very loud in autumn.

What happens when we do not comply?

We fight the THEY and take a day at the end of October to visit an apple orchard in North Georgia. There is an area of rolling hills and distant mountains around the town of Ellijay where several of these orchards are nestled. BJ Reece, Hillcrest and Jaemor Farms are just a few. Each offers its own variety of fall activities. Perhaps a hay ride or pig races. They each have their own stores, offering varieties of local products like apple butter, honey, kettle corn, apple fritters, and pies of every variety. Oh, and apples… as many apples as you could want!

This year, we chose to visit Mercier Orchards.

I think we are struggling a bit emotionally, as a family. My son has gone off to college, a couple of hours drive from home. This leaves only my daughter, wife, and me in the house. With other family further away, we feel a bit… diminished. But, he is home this weekend and we drag him and his girlfriend along for the experience.

Why travel to travel to some fairly distant location just to pick apples when organic varieties are available at the grocery store near home?

Apples can have profound health benefits. They have been shown to improve chances against heart disease and stroke, decrease chances of cancer and diabetes, improve gut health and prevent gut diseases, decrease asthma symptoms, and even protect the brain and increase mental health.¹

They closer we can get our apples to their source, the more we can shut out THEY. THEY are the ones offering you genetically modified apples designed to not brown when cut open or bruised. Are these modifications harmful? Who can say? They have not been proven by the ultimate test of fragility- TIME.

These genetically modified apples are so common that it is probably what you are getting, unless you specifically seek out an alternative. THEY do not care. THEY just know you do not like to see the browning of a cut apple and THEY want your money.

Lets find an alternative. Yes, it seems like a lot of money to pick your own apples at these farms. But, in doing so, we are supporting these farms over the Big Agra businesses who are fully aligned with THEY.

In the early 19th century Johnathan Chapman pushed back against THEY. THEY were in favor of grafting one type of apple branch onto another type of tree to produce apples of the preferred type and taste. It may be because in those days apples were eaten less and mostly used for making cider, but Johnathan did not care. He promoted growing apples from seed and in doing so preserved the time tested genetic variances of apples. This is became the legacy of Johnny Appleseed.

Today, lets just take a pause and look at what THEY are demanding. Bills, taxes, policies, politics, rules, and profit… it is all just noise.

The real world is out there right now changing as the season turns, cycling with every sunrise and sunset. Real life involves watching your son step out of the door to find his own way as a man, hoping that you’ve done enough to show him the way. It is also watching your daughter find her own strength of character in the person she is becoming. With her, perhaps, there is a little more time. Authentic experience is spending time with the spouse you’ve stitched your soul to, knowing that the most important part of your story is that you are not alone.

Sure, it is an expense. Sure, there are other things that need doing. But, I took today away from THEM to spend invaluable time with my family at an apple orchard in autumn.

How do you like them apples?

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1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-apples