Apple Picking at DeMeritt Hill Farm

This past Saturday we met up with our oldest son, his wife, and his wife’s sister in Lee New Hampshire to do some apple picking at DeMeritt Hill Farm. Elisa and I arrived a bit early, so we spent a little time watching children interact with the goats, chickens, miniature horses and alpacas that form a cute little barnyard petting zoo.

Once we were all together we purchased our apple picking bags from the farm store and waiting for the ride to the orchard–a hay wagon with seating that was pulled by a farm tractor. Once among the trees we picked up some apple picking poles (haven’t seen those before) and we were told that three varieties of apples were ripe for picking: Macintosh, Spencer, and Cortland. The trees were color coded with plastic ribbons. It was the first day of picking for the Spencers, and they weren’t remotely close to ripe yet. But there were some ripe apples among the Cortland and Macintosh trees, which were mixed together among three or four rows of the orchard.

Elisa and I were looking for apples to bake with so we picked two half-peck bags of Macintosh apples. The picking didn’t take long–a peck of apples isn’t all that much–but we had a lot of fun watching families with small children pick apples, and the weather was absolutely fantastic.

After we finished picking, we picked up a half gallon of the farm’s cider, dropped off everything in our cars, and then took a casual walk around the farm, stopping at a nice little man-made pond lined with rushes. It was a great way to spend a day with family and friends.