The Johnny Appleseed Festival is tomorrow. Junior has invitations to march in the parade from two different groups. But the weather report looks ugly for tomorrow – they’re saying there’s an 80% chance of rain. I’m thinking it will probably rain, which means no festival. And none of the other things we could do on a fall Saturday, including apple picking, or whathaveyou. I adore living in New England in the fall. The sensory overload one experiences cannot be accurately described to people who don’t get to experience fall foliage, apple orchards and harvest festivals. Never picked your own pumpkin out in the field? That’s a damned shame. It’s fun, and it also reminds the kids that the pumpkins didn’t just appear out of nowhere in a bin at the store. Plus when you step on the vines they make a squeaky popping noise.
As for apples, the new owners of Marshall Farm in Fitchburg have done an amazing job of adding on the little cafe to the old barn, with the outdoor porch for sipping coffee and looking out at the amazing view. Unfortunately, they’ve gotten rid of a lot of the old orchards since last year. There’s a [dirt] parking lot that used to be the grassy area where they’d do drop-offs and pickups for the fire engine rides. The orchards on the other side of the street have been removed to make a bigger area for the petting zoo (I think…it wasn’t done when we were there.) You can still pick your own, it’s just in a smaller orchard. But they did build more permanent BBQ pits, so you can make a full day of it. I’m glad they kept that aspect of the farm. It really is a great place to go on fall weekends.
We all knew when the Jay Marshall died, most of us who had grown to love the farm feared for the worst, so I am beyond pleased that the new owners worked to make what they had thrive, instead of selling off all the land for condos. The farm was established in 1786, so it’s not a fly-by-night place. 9 generations of Marshalls ran the farm. A type of apple discovered one year turned out to be unique and is thus trademarked as the “Marshall Macintosh” and they are now grown in other orchards in the US.
What’s my point? Well, maybe it’s just a reminder to not miss all the cool stuff fall offers. From what I’ve seen of the trees that have already started turning, this year should be AMAZING for foliage. Yea fall!
