Apple Picking

Today was a wonderful day for apple-picking. We beat the weekend rush, and went late enough in the afternoon so as to avoid any school trips. This is certainly not the first time that we have gone apple picking, but the boys really enjoyed it this year. They really do mature so much in one year!! On a sad note, we had a great if disturbing talk with the farmer who owns the orchard. He was telling us of a huge sub division that is being built just down the road from his farm, on what used to be another orchard. Acres and acres of beautiful, mature, fruit-bearing trees are geing sliced down so that a few hundred houses can be crammed onto the land, and the rest paved over. But it doesn't stop there. The farmers who work the land close by, such as where we picked, will feel the effects, too. The helicopters that they rely on to lift the frost from the trees end up being banned because of the noise. The increased traffic becomes a problem, and commuters do not want to be 'stuck' on a 2 lane road behind a tractor. More complaints. The fresh air and peace and quiet that makes for such a nice atmosphere while you are picking disappears when the farm is smack dab in the middle of suburbia. That in itself is a huge issue, since this farmer had to open up his orchard as a pick-your-own farm when Canadian grocery stores would no longer purchase his apples. There are higher profit margin for imported fruits, don't ya know. Although it certainly wasn't a 'nice' conversation, it was good to have the boys begin to learn about this sort of dynamic from someone whose livelihood it is effecting so directly. William has planned a field trip for us this week - to check out our local grocery store to see how much local produce we can find, what types of foods are imported, and where all of the food had been brought in from. We'll post the results after our investigation! For now, though, a few truly 'Autumn in Ontario' pics for you...