How Apple Cider is Made

We  headed to the apple orchard today.

We arrived to find it packed.



They have a huge Columbus Day weekend event with live music, free apple cider, free apple cider donuts, a children's book author, grills of burgers, hot dogs, chicken and so much more.

We went on a hay ride and saw the pumpkin patch, the blueberry bushes, all the different types of apples and even some of the other vegetable crops they grow.

getting comfy on the hay ride
The pumpkin patch
We bought apples, candy apples, and cider.  The maple sugar shack we visited over the winter had a booth set up and the boys begged me to buy some more maple sugar cotton candy.

We walked over and watched them making apple cider.  We were just in time for them to bring in a whole new batch of apples.  We watched them dump the bin, saw the apples climb up the conveyor ladder, heard the apples getting crunched up and watched them fill the press with the apple mush.  As the mush is pressed we watched the juices dripping out of the bottom and pooling in the tank.  It was pretty neat.  The only complaint the boys had was that there were a lot of bees around.  All day long we were swatting at bees.

apples getting dumped into the machine
apple "sludge" being cleaned out of the press
apples going up the ramp
It was hot and sunny and, much like me, my boys don't love to be around crowds of people.  In no time at all we were all ready to leave.  I was happy with what we had accomplished for the day and we headed home.

lots of lines to wait in today

Lovely New England scenery! 

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