Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

September 27, 2006 -Apple Picking

Saturday was a pleasant excursion with friends. The Cousin, whose family goes apple picking every year at Hopewell Furnace, arranged for a group of us to join them. The Gryphon couldn't go, because, as the IT director for his company, he had to be available for troubleshooting while employees tested a new system.

I drove up to the White Rabbit's house and met him and The Dormouse to carpool. We had somewhat flawed directions from Yahoo! Maps, which meant that we drove past nearly every turn and had to turn around.

Surprisingly, we arrived at the same time our friends arrived, including The Cousin, The Photographer and their two daughters, and a family who doesn't yet have a Musings nickname. I'll call the husband The Laughing Man because of his unfailing good nature and frequent bouts of laughter. He was accompanied by his wife, their little boy, and their 1 1/2-year-old girl.

The Cousin and her family had been there before, so they told us what to do. Hopewell Furnace is a national historic site, and visitors may collect apples using buckets collected in the visitor's center. Afterwards, they can weigh them and pay for what they've picked.

We couldn't take enough apple pickers for everybody, because then there wouldn't have been any left for other visitors. But we figured we could take turns.

When you pick up the buckets, you also pick up a map of the orchard that shows you what varieties of apples are on different trees. So we started with some apples The Cousin's family was particularly fond of: Smokehouse. As the name suggests, they have a smoky flavor and are great for either eating or cooking.

To make sure we knew what we were getting, we'd take an apple from a tree and cut it into slices for everyone to sample. Then we'd determine if we wanted apples from that tree. Some apples people wanted just small amounts, so we put them in plastic bags The Cousin had brought, in order to keep them separate.

At one point, The White Rabbit expressed concern over the ethics of tasting apples. The Cousin assured him that it was a common practice but that if he felt guilty about it, he could give them some extra money when we paid.

One of my favorites were Northern Spy, which is a very tart apple. I like apples with a lot of taste to them. We also got some Cortlands. I checked in with The Gryphon to make sure we had enough for his applesauce recipe, which he intended to make as soon as he could join us at the White Rabbit's.

I didn't have to do a lot of picking, as it turned out, because The Cousin's daughters were very enthusiastic about helping. Similarly, The White Rabbit, The Dormouse and The Photographer were particularly industrious. The girls, though, had more fun with it. At one point, the younger one even climbed on her dad's shoulders to reach some higher apples.

I made myself useful by helping to carry buckets from tree to tree, and harvest a few apples. Eventually, we put them all on a wagon that The Laughing Man and his wife had brought.

Since I had the opportunity, and since The Cousin had specifically requested I bring my camera, I took some pictures of the others in action. The Cousin returned the favor and got a few of me.

When we were done apple picking, we paid for our apples and then walked down to a tree which would be a perfect place to take pictures. We got a group shot.

Of course, I hadn't brought my tripod, so in order to get me in a photo, The Photographer had to take it.

I also got some pictures of The Laughing Man's family, by request.

Then we grabbed our lunches from the cars and walked over to the picnic area. Some people had forgotten to bring lunch, but fortunately, The Laughing Man and his wife had brought extra sandwiches and plenty of chips.

We were met by a ground hog who had dug a hole at the foot of a tree and was hunkered in as if guarding his territory. Strangely, even after we ate our lunches on the other side of the tree, he was still sitting there, trying not to be seen. Perhaps he knows he's safe because he lives in a national park. Fortunately, the children listened to warnings not to go near him.

The Gryphon had packed my lunch at my request and had done so with great love and care. He'd even put a cold pack in to keep it cool. While it made the sandwich a little soggy, I appreciated the thought. And he'd even put some napkins in and given me more carrots and soy chips than I'd requested. I think he was concerned that I would have enough to eat.

By the time we headed out, we had 42 pounds of apples in our vehicles, some of which were destined to become pies and applesauce within a short time period. There were also some for eating and some for people who'd requested we bring them apples.

We drove back to The White Rabbit's place in a caravan, fortunately having better luck navigating the directions the second time around. The White Rabbit had told people we'd be back by 3, and we were actually a little early. We bustled around putting things in order.

The Gryphon arrived just about 20 minutes later. Along with The Cousin, I peeled apples for him to make apple sauce. Meanwhile, The Laughing Man's wife put an apple cake in the oven. She also made a delicious apple and yogurt fruit salad.

Soon, more people began arriving (if I leave anyone out, it's unintentional). The March Hare showed up the same time as The Gryphon. Other guests included Batman; The Cheshire Cat, whose wife, The Paper, was home sick; The Pirate; a friend I'll call Ka-Pow after his online nickname, along with his wife, whom I'll call The Eeyore Fan because of her fondness for Winnie the Pooh's sad-sack friend; and The Martial Artist, The Book Lover and their baby son, who is growing rapidly and even standing now!

And then there were the guests of honor, Agent Smith and The Costumer, who would soon be moving to Northwestern PA because of The Costumer's promotion. They've also announced they're expecting a baby, due in April, so the party was also to celebrate their good fortune.

At first, I had trouble relaxing, finding various ways to pitch in. I was trying, in particular, to childproof the place as much as possible, thinking of the things my brother and his wife did in their homes. But The Laughing Man and his wife have a more relaxed approach to parenting, and he told me it was OK if, for example, bottle caps stayed on the table after bottles were opened. I kept worrying that the little ones might try to swallow them, but those worries seemed unwarranted.

Batman grilled up some chicken, and they also grilled up some kielbasa, which nobody had put slits in. Various people commented on it as it swelled up and swelled up. The Pirate joked that he likes to cook them that way, put it in a bun and watch them explode when someone bites into them. I'm not sure everyone realized he was joking.

He calls himself the conversation assassin, and for good reason. He has a way of tweaking people by saying the most strange, out-there, potentially offensive things. Such as, for example, wondering aloud how many Americans knew what human flesh tastes like.

The Dormouse listens to a salty tale from The Pirate

I told him he's got plenty of "Piratitude", a term I learned on a recent episode of ABC's Wife Swap, where the matriarch of a family of pirate reenactors swapped with a professional organizer.

The Gryphon also cooked up his chicken, which had a tasty spice rub. I also had some fresh vegetables, which someone had thoughtfully brought. And of course, I had to sample the apple cake and one of the apple pies. Fortunately, I was good the rest of the week, so my weekly weigh-in showed a slight loss rather than, as I had feared, a gain.

We spent some fun time on the back porch, eating and talking to people. The Cheshire Cat and The Dormouse, who will be two of The Gryphon's groomsmen, were joking about their plans for his bachelor party. Apparently, it involves some sort of a marathon of anime and science fiction.

"Should I leave the room?" I asked. The assured me there was no need. Nice to know!

Sometime later, couples started sharing stories of how they'd met. I told them about The Gryphon and I flirting during Otakon 2003 and how he'd showed up for our first date, having shaved off his shaggy beard, carrying flowers. So sweet!

Agent Smith regaled us by telling us about his shy, stumbling first attempts to ask her out, a process encouraged and abetted by The Cheshire Cat and The Paper, who not only sat them together at their wedding reception but also told him he should take a chance and ask her out.

And The Cheshire Cat told us about how his wife, The Paper, had set her hat for him and, upon discovering that subtlety wasn't working, found a direct approach more successful by basically making her intentions clear.

After we'd eaten dinner, The White Rabbit announced he had the recently finished trailer to S.T.E.A.M., a fan parody directed by his friend, The Video Director. The White Rabbit had helped write it and had done voice work.

The promo was brilliant; it had us laughing out loud.

We cleansed the palate by watching some 80s music videos by the group Asia, which The March Hare had brought. We had fun figuring out how they achieved the hokey effects. After all, in those days there was no digital editing.

Then we watched S.T.E.A.M. It was a great way to watch it, because you always laugh more at comedies when you're in a group. There was a lot of brilliant stuff in the movie, and I was particularly impressed with The White Rabbit's voice work. He should seriously consider doing that professionally.

By the time the movie had ended, people were starting to drift away. We collected some apples and, of course, the other items we'd brought. We said good-bye to everyone, and hugged Agent Smith and The Costumer, wishing them the best of luck in their move.

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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