How Do You Like Them Apples?

This afternoon, as I made my hurried hike across campus, I slipped and almost bailed in the middle of the sidewalk. When I reeled around to face the culprit, I was shocked to find it was an apple - the ground before me was littered with them! (I kid you not, this was outside the McIntosh Art Gallery – named for the man not the apple variety but still, imagine the irony.)

When the shock subsided I was left with an unbelievable pang of nostalgia. As a little girl, I remember taking autumn drives up Blue Mountain road and seeing the orchards blazing red and bursting with fruit. I don’t know if it’s that sweet aroma, the brisk air, the changing leaves or the big wooly sweaters, but something about it has gotten me ever since.

So I thought instead of going on a hayride this season, as has become the customary fall foray, why not try going apple picking? Apple Land Station is right outside London and it’s the perfect place to pick apples straight from the tree. They even pick you up and drop you off so you don’t have to lug your healthy hoard back through the orchard. (You didn’t hear it from me, but they also make a mean pie…)

photo by Cheryl Peddie

If that doesn’t do it for you, remember: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples are busting with vitamin C and antioxidants, which is never a bad thing as flu season dawns. Apples are also known for promoting good liver health and helping to remove toxins from your system (just in case you got a little too festive over Thanksgiving weekend…).

So load up the car and head east on Dundas. You’ll be seeing red in no time.