Apple in the Eve's Cidery Orchard

It is weeks like these when I feel so lucky to be doing what I am doing. Emma and I have spent the past couple of days in upstate New York working on various segments and projects we have coming up. We drove to Ithaca on Wednesday morning to film with Autumn Stoscheck and Ezra Sherman of Eve’s Cidery. We made it to Ithaca in due time, and dropped our bags off at the Log Country Inn Bed and Breakfast. Then we had a few mishaps. We were not sure of where we were supposed to arrive, and landed at the cider press (after missing the driveway twice!), where Ezra was working on cleaning up for the next day. It turns out that Autumn was waiting for us back at the orchard about 35 minutes away, so off we went once again. It was not until about 2 hours after having arrived in Ithaca that we finally got to the orchard. Autumn took us up the hill by their farm in the back of a pick-up, and we meandered down through the orchard, learning about the different cider apples that they grow. I guess God has plans after all, because the light hitting the orchard in the late afternoon was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Autumn climbed up her ladder and started picking some apples. She confessed that picking was one of the reasons that she loved to make cider. I understood why- there was something intimate about her work with nature, something personal. That night we gathered at their house with some of their friends for a local dinner, of which the details I will share later. Autumn is a great natural cook with a creative spirit. The next day we woke up at the Log Country Inn Bed and Breakfast for some of Wanda’s, the proprietor, blintzes. We totally recommend her cozy inn, which has a lot of charming rooms to choose from. Now we are up in Cooperstown canning whatever we can get our hands on. Last night we tackled beets, cauliflower, and string beans, as well as corn relish and whole peaches. Today is another day up here in the vast glory of upstate New York.