Gravenstein Apples

 

In my last post Jan H. was curious about my mention of Gravenstein apples. She did a little research and found they are an endangered apple. Many people don't know about this beautiful apple.

"Gravs, as fans call them, are delicious and versatile. Depending on the degree of ripeness, they can be perfect for munching or making into apple sauce, apple pies, and other baked goodies. People have long believed that the Gravenstein was brought to Sonoma County (California) sometime around 1812 by Russian fur trappers at Fort Ross."  I always thought they came from Scandanavia, but maybe it was Russia. Some are stripey like the picture above and some have a soft yellow green skin.

The main reason you don't see them in the market is because they don't transport well, they bruise easily. That is probably why they are diminishing.

You might ask how I know so much about this lovely apple. I will tell you. My grandpa was an apple grower in Colorado in the early 1900's. Then because my grandma wanted to move to California, he took up growing in the Sonoma County area about the 1930's. He fell in love with the Gravenstein apple and started growing them. Two of my aunts/uncles then had orchards on each side of my grandpa about the time I was born in the 1940's. The grandchildren came along, there ended up being 27 of us. I was the second grandchild and oldest girl. We all, at times, worked in one way or the other with the apples. It might have been picking them from the ground, sorting them in the packing house, or making boxes.

My sister still lives on 2 acres of what was our grandpa's orchard. There are still Gravenstein apple trees on her property. She makes gallons and gallons of apple juice each year, which she shares with her four sons and their families.  

My uncles orchard is now mostly in grapes. Yes, Sonoma County later became wildly popular for growing wine grapes. My uncle would be so sad to see all the grapes on his property. The new owners did leave the apple trees to border the vineyard, just to honor the history of the Gravenstein.

My aunts each thought they made the best Gravenstein pies. It was a fun family tradition. To this day several of the girl cousins still think they make the best Gravenstein pie. Of course, I think mine is the best. Each August I make sure to get enough Gravenstein's to have 2-4 pie fillings in my freezer. They are indeed getting harder to find and a very short season when I do find some. There are just a few growers here in Oregon that grow them, but they just aren't the Gravenstein's I find in Sonoma County, California. The tradition does carry on.

And thus, the people that shared my pie at the Harvest Festival last Saturday didn't know this story of my apple pie, but they enjoyed it just the same.

One more time with the picture of the Gravenstein apple pie. When I started making these pies I would put a butterfly on the top, that has become my mark for the pies I bake.

Hope you enjoyed the story of the Gravenstein apples. My post is early, as I am leaving town in a couple hours for a little R&R and a bunch of tea at the Northwest (Seattle) Tea Festival. See you here later next week.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

 Dragonflies delight my soul when spotted at Lan Su Chinese Gardens.

 

“In the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, we find a gentle reminder to appreciate the small moments in life and to find joy in life’s simple pleasures.”

 by Shree Shambav

 

Always a butterfly appears on my pies. It was a joy to bake this Gravenstein apple pie for a harvest gathering.

 

And then to walk in a fruit tree orchard.

And to end the celebration of the Autumn Equinox by sitting by the fire.

Happy Autumn Equinox, dear friends!

Sending love,

Marilyn
 

Happy Place

 Recently a long time online friend asked "where is your happy place?". She was wondering where does your mind go when you can't sleep, a place that relaxes you and helps you rest.

This first memory is so strong in my mind I was sure I had a photograph of it, but I think it is just a picture in my mind.

My happy place has always been by the seashore. I remind myself of the time my mother showed me how to dig in the sand a hole to sit in, laying my towel over the hole that fit my behind just right. That image is so real in my mind that I thought I might have a picture of it. I went looking, but didn't find one.

What I did find was this:

 

My second happy place when I need to rest is visiting Hawaii for the first time. I laid in a hammock and just let my worries go out the door. I didn't think I had a picture of that, but surprise - I found one. I can just imagine laying there, swinging gently in the seaside breeze. Yep, that is me 26 years ago.

Then the other night, when I couldn't sleep, my mind went to the time my "live-in gardener" and I visited Carcasonne, France. We stayed inside the medieval walls for 3 nights. At night most of the tourists were gone and we would walk around the little village in the dark. We would stop to eat a local meal under the stars and the branches of a large tree. It was like we were the only ones sitting there in the world just savoring good food and gentle, warm breezes. It was delightful.

Have you notice a trend for me? My comfort place, my happy place is outdoors.

Where is your happy place? Where does your mind take you when you have a hard time going to sleep?

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

 This past week:

My "live-in gardener and son most often take a walk each day, but on one day this past week my son asked me to walk with him. Isn't it interesting when you get alone with one of your children, either small or big, they talk more openly. We had to pause and take a look at a few things along the way. We were noticing the small things.

 

Two comments I came across this week were:

In the end only kindness matters

Be Kind for no reason

 

Both so true. Kindness does matter and it is so important to be kind for no reason. When I was out and about a woman smiled at me, it felt like kindness was there for no reason at all. I remembered that smile all day long. 

Sending love,

Marilyn

Lazy, Hazy Dayz of Summer

Summer is almost over, but I wonder what have you done with those "lazy, hazy dayz of summer"?

Dipping toes in the water of a pool or shore.

Walking down a sun lite dappled lane.

 Sitting by the shoreline to watch the sunset.

 

Letting peach or apple juice run down your arms as you savor.

Read a good beach book. I enjoyed The Women by Kristin Hannah

Listen to some mellow, slow jazz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBHVKCfntZs&ab_channel=JazzyRelaxBMG

Walk with a friend.

Have dinner out side under the moonlight.

What did you do?

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

"kindness (noun) An instance of kind or charitable behaviour. Generosity makes us feel good."  Wikipedia

My tea group met yesterday in a historic cemetery. Needless to say, it was quite peaceful there. A perfect place for meditation and sipping tea. There were two of the attendees that had a difficult time moving about; so the kindness of the one sitting next to them served the tea for them. It makes my heart happy because I know when I get to that point some day I know someone in the group will be there for me.

 

Not too long ago I attended the Aloha Festival. What struck me when seeing these women in their beautiful dresses is that they stopped to share some time with the elderly lady sitting on her walker. It is those little things, generously given.

 

Last year when my "live-in gardener", my D, and I went zip lining I was felt well cared for by those working there. They helped fasten us in to our harnesses and were there to catch us at the end of the line. I felt safe with them.

Sometime ago several tea fans sat in the park serving tea. At my table sat this little girl sipping tea with me. I feel like she felt safe with me and her mother left her there to sip tea. Her mom must have felt safe to leave her with me too.

 

She even felt safe enough to lay down on my blanket by my tea table to rest awhile. In this picture you see someone came on his bicycle and also put out some tea to share with those that dropped by for a sip.

So you see generosity does indeed make us feel good, we feel safe when people around us are kind.

 Have a good week, dear friends.

Sending love,

Marilyn 

Words of Kindness and Joy

 Last night, after four hours of sleep, I woke up. I do this at least two or three times a week. It is frustrating, but I have come to accept it for now. Usually I scroll social media in the middle of the night for awhile before going back to bed. Last night, when I was scrolling, I saw that one of my friends indoor cats escaped and she couldn't find him. Oh, I hope he comes home. Say a little prayer for little black Lewis.

Thinking of Lewis reminded me of a time a few years ago when my Joey walked out of an open door. He was an indoor cat too, plus a big scaredy-cat. I walked all over our yard calling his name. I looked everywhere (I thought). I even walked around the neighborhood calling for him. He was nowhere to be found. I was so sad and angry at the person that left the door open. Sitting on my back steps I was mourning. As I sat there I heard a little bird chirping in distress. I had never heard that sound before, so I followed the sound. When I got near the bird in the bush I looked down under the branches and there was my Joey. He was so terrified, he was afraid to move. I scooped him up with hugs and kisses and he returned to the safety of the indoors. 

In winter Joey loved napping under blankets or pillows. I think he felt safe and warm there.

I can't tell you what that little bird looked like, but the two above were in my file of bird ideas for painting. The top one was on wallpaper in a bathroom I visited this summer. The lower bird I found online.

Now you might say "what does that have to do with kindness and joy"?  It was the kindness of that little bird and the joy in the rescue for both Joey and myself. Notice what you notice, for if I hadn't noticed the birds song I wouldn't have found Joey.

Sending love,

Marilyn