Cider House Rules (picture heavy)

Well, before we could leave for the city, Sariah wanted to go back by the farm. Randy was going to be making cider, and we wanted to watch, and we wanted another donut for the road...

First the apples are gathered, then dumped (a variety of around 5 different kinds of apples), into a machine that washes then and removes most of the leaves. Then it gets dumped down onto a convery belt type thing (that is mostly original, and quite old), and the apples are sprayed off one more time and then transported up to the third floor, where they get dropped into a machine that basically pulverizes them. Then R pulls a lever and the apple mush drops down onto the 'car', that has been prepared with a layer of a wooden pallet, then a piece of special fabric, that catches the apple mash. Then, they spread it all out and fold the fabric up around all the sides, lay on another wodden pallet, and lay out another fabric piece, and pull the lever again, so that more apple mash comes down the chute, and they do this layer after layer, until they have about 14 layers. As each new layer is added, it gets heavier and heavier, and the juice begine poouring out the bottom of the 'car' which is covered in a plastic and the juice goes down a tube and into a funnel and pours downstiars to another level, and is poured into a screen, to filter it more finely, then it pours into a very large wooden barrel, then it travels through tubes down into a smaller wooden barrel (Sariah helped clean and wash it out in preparation for the fresh cider to be made). Then the cider is run through a UV ray machine that kills any possible bacteria that migh be left, and heats it. Then the cider is run through another series of hoses to a very large cooling machine, where it is pulled into another barrel and is then gravity fed into a bottling tub. The bottles are fitted onto one of 5 nozzles, and filled. Then the lids are fitted on the bottles, and the labels placed on the jugs.

After the apple mash on the car is high enough - the 'car' is pushed down to the press. The press has a hydrolic lift that puts up to 2,000 lbs of pressure or more on the stack of pallets and apple mash, forcing the cider to pour don through the funnel into the large wooden barrel downstairs.

After about 30 minutes or so... the hydraulic press is turned off, and the 'car' is pushed out the other side of the press and the 'blankets' of left over apple mash that is now nearly dry - as the juice has all been pressed out - are undone and the leftovers lifted off (in a large flat brick of apple peels, seeds, etc) and folded up and then thrown out into the woods, where it is basically mulch, adn will go back into the ground. (sometimes hunters will come gather some of it and place it to get the deer interested and come eat it so they can get their venison).

Once we got over to the farm, Sariah didn't want to leave. She got to help with making the cider.

She also helped Kristamarie put out pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. Then we went over to the farm store, and Tricia's treat shop, and Sariah got to help make some treats, (chocolate dipped pretzels) and stock and organize shelves and then Tricia taught her how to run the register, and she spent most of the rest of the afternoon running back and forth between shops ringing up customers. She was having a blast, and it helped make her even more determined to go back next year on fall break and work the harvest at the farm. I even helped wait on a few customers and helped make and bag some carmel apples.

Then, we went back to the Cider Mill. We helped bottle and label and stack the bottles of Cider in the baskets and then took them to the cold storage room, and clean up the cider tanks, etc. I think Randy said they made a total of nearly 900 gallons of Cider that day. They do that weekly durring the fall. Amazing!

I had no idea what all went into running a farm... I can't believe that after living with R and B for a year and a half - through two fall harvest seasons, I had so little knowlege of what all they did. Granted the farm is bigger than it used to be. The farm store sells more items, they have a gift shop as well now, and then there is Tricia's Treats. That started with Tricia making several batches of homemade cider donuts in the morning, and she would be mobbed before she got them out to the shop. They have gotten bigger and bigger each year. They straightened out an old barn, and it became Tricia's Treats downstairs, and upstairs are offices. Then this past year they built onto the barn, added a storage basement, and a whole new kitchen area. There are windows so that people can watch as they make fresh cider donuts with a cool donut making machine. They also bake pies and muffins, brownies, cookies and other yummy treats. They sell it, and hot or cold fresh pressed apple cider from the farm. (I am sure I gained some weight, eating donuts and drinking cider).

After a full day - working on the farm, Sariah got to drive us around the orchards and the Christmas trees in one of the Golf Carts they use to get around the farm quickly. We took some more pic's and picked some more apples. Then we went back to the house, ate Pizza, then got on our way across the river over the Tappan Zee Bridge to Nyack, where I lived for a year as a nanny to visit with B and L and their daughter (my Amanda's Name sake), Amanda.

There is so much more to tell, so I'll do it in installments, and add pics as I go along. I may tke a few days just so people can read it, and I can take the time to write and post pic's of our adventures.

Apple Picking, West Point, and sight seeing

Sariah arrived late Saturday night. I had been awake the entire night before with Rach in labor. By the time we dealt with Sariah's missing luggage, went and picked up the rental car and drove (with a couple of wrong/missed turns) back to Rach n Gar's it was 2:00 am when we got home. I was very tired!!! The good news for the night was that we got a parking space right around the corner from their apartment building, AND it was free parking, since it was Sunday (at a meter).

We got up Sunday morning, and got ready. Sariah and Rach's mom (who had arrived around noon on Saturday), big sister A and I went up to the hosp to visit Rach and the babies. I drove and we got there fine and, other than a little bit of traffic near the hosptial, due to some sort of cycling event and lots of bicycles. I dropped A and her grandma off at the hosp, and went on to look for parking. Sariah and I had to walk a couple of blocks, but really we found a great parking spot, and again, though it was at a meter, it was free on sunday! yippeee!!!

After we left Rach, we drove up to Westchester county to stay with friends. It was a weekend and I knew the family would be at the Farm, so... we went straight there. I got to see KM who was a young girl last time I saw her, and the other family that was there working this weekend. There have been quite a few changes and things they've added onto the farm. 'Tricia's Treats' smelled heavenly as they made fresh Apple Cider Donuts, and you could watch them make them through a window. Sariah and I went out to the orchard and picked a 1/2 bushel of apples. Yummy!!! Then we went back in and helped restock the shelves at the farm store.

Sariah has fallen in love with the farm and with NY! She wants us to move here! ;-) She has been dying to get in and help with things in Tricia's bake shop, so today when we went back over, Sariah got to help make some yummy chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. She did a great job! I helped with some carmel apples, and bagged up the pretzels after they dried/set up.

Yesterday we drove up to West Point Military Academy. Sariah wasn't all that impressed with the idea, but i took her to lunch at the Thayer Hotel. http://www.thethayerhotel.com/ Once she wasn't complaining ;-) about starving any more... she got into the spirit of things and had fun (I think). We took a bunch of silly pictures. Hopefully dad won't be mortified... ;-) We walked around a bit and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Hudson River Valley, and West Point. http://www.dbmi.columbia.edu/homepages/jil9006/social/westpoint/westpoint.html
I drove around and showed Sariah some sights, and tried to give her a little history, but mostly she only payed attention to the info about dad attending there, and us dating there.

I drove up to Cornwall on Hudson where I lived the last year while Bill was a Firstie/Senior. I couldn't remember the address of my house, but I did drive down the road. Then we drove back home to Yorktown (that's where the Farm is, but really the house I lived and worked at is in the town of Cortlandt Manor, though the mailing address when I was there was Peekskill). Noone was home so we went to the farm, ate some donuts, drank some yummy hot cider, and visited.

Sariah is trying to devise a plan to come back every year for fall break and help work on the farm. She also says she wants to live here... we joked around that KM has 5 years for Sariah to graduate from high school in which to find a husband and start a family so Sariah can come back and be the nanny for KM's babies. Two generations of families working together. :-)

We head to NYC tomorrow, to do some sight seeing, and we hope to see a broadway show. Then we go to visit my other family in Nyack/Piermont, NY. We will miss the Farm. It has been fun here.