Peach Picking at Legend Hills Orchard

I think it's now official- the Arbour family has a favorite orchard.  Legend Hills Orchard, near Utica, Ohio has officially become stitched into our family fabric.  Weston loves going to the place where the "yum yums" hang from trees, and we hope Brody will too.  I checked back on the blog to see when we started coming here.  I'm not sure exactly how early it was, but I did  find a post showing Megan and I picking apples in 2007.

We were just one-year-married at that time, basically still newlyweds.  Now, we've got two boys that follow us around everywhere we go.  It's amazing how our lives have changed- for the better.  Caring for two little hungry mouths- getting them to sleep, to stop crying, changing their diapers, and now potty training  is all, well, a struggle. Sometimes we are so busy it's hard to remember that there was ever a time in our lives where we had to look for something to keep us entertained.  Now we long for that little bit of extra time, but it usually doesn't happen.  And that's OK- because one day I'm sure we'll be asking ourselves how the boys grew up so fast.  Maybe it was because they ate a ton of peaches?!

-Tom

Super Summer Weekend #1

I'm back!  So much of my time goes to the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves Facebook page.  If you haven't liked it, please do.  We provide some pretty awesome comment, if I do say so myself.  It's right here:  https://www.facebook.com/ohiodnap

So, to start getting back into the swing of things, how about a look into our first super summer weekend?  Strawberry picking at Legend Hills, Velvet ice cream at Ye Old Mill, and a rather engaging trip to the Heart of Africa courtesy of the Columbus Zoo.

The boys are getting big, aren't they!  Four and six.. Drop me a comment, I'd love to hear from you.  And hey, super summer weekend #2 is about to begin.

-Tom

Ohio Spiderwort

A native Ohio plant, I can't get enough of the contrast between Ohio spiderwort's (Tradescantia ohiensis) deep purple flowers and bright yellow anthers.  This is one of the native species I've added to our back yard since moving to Worthington three years ago.  Enjoy your Sunday morning! If everything goes well for us, we'll be off on a family strawberry picking adventure to  Legend Hills Orchard.


-Tom

Apple Pickn'

Megan and I headed to the Legend Hills Orchard near Utica Ohio in Knox County Sunday to pick apples. Since then, we've made fresh apple sauce and even a nice pie from our quarry.

 

Here I am, looking kinda crazy, in the midst of an apple tree looking for Cortland apples.

 

Even though I was picking apples, I took time to look for other creatures, including butterflies. There were plenty of pearl crescents and even monarchs. There were also several robin's nests in the apple trees.

 

Great fun was had by all, including our friends James and Kathleen and their dog Eva. Megan holds the apple picker, a great tool for anyone under 6' 6" or those who do not possess "go go gadget" arms.