tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823484536795348082024-02-18T23:10:37.128-08:00Lost In the ForestForest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-79805996688007249442008-09-28T22:29:00.000-07:002008-10-18T16:51:02.164-07:00Processing Day - Hard Cider 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-7LIpqgNmlWsYR4HiJNdC1FYOPT_p_tZeYiWLftxSztYhnv7pMvpI4L4Z826lce3eLkE5EzTNBmfADBXV-luQzmQIG9yXCOFtTEWqYgi4Jp2aUP__1RIycWZXIaC9WSUdklzw-QcSFk/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+286.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255265992651425778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-7LIpqgNmlWsYR4HiJNdC1FYOPT_p_tZeYiWLftxSztYhnv7pMvpI4L4Z826lce3eLkE5EzTNBmfADBXV-luQzmQIG9yXCOFtTEWqYgi4Jp2aUP__1RIycWZXIaC9WSUdklzw-QcSFk/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+286.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">We decided to upgrade our production line this year. For the last four years I have been forced to rent an antiquated hand-crank grinder. I hate using the hand-crank for two reasons. First, I'm lazy. I don't like slaving. Secondly, hour after hour as I'm sweating and dying of exhaustion, I know just by looking that the quarter-sized apple chunks being spit out of the grinder are going to be wasted all because I can't seem to get the apples ground small enough. </span></div><div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">That said Dan and I discussed a few options. We talked about contacting a cider mill and paying them to press our apples for us, but we found that there was only one commercial cider mill in Canon City, Colorado. They were busy with their own apples and couldn't help us.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">With that option put to rest, we, meaning Dan (he's the problem solving brain of the operation), put his mind to solving the pressing problem (I made a pun!) of simplifying our production line. We decided on a super-burly stainless steel garbage disposal, which I named "the consumer." I was counting on the thing being insatiably hungry.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">I'll admit I was a little nervous about the upgrade. I loved the idea, but I didn't trust it. In fact, "the consumer" gave me plenty to mistrust. It crapped out on us on day one. </span><br /><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">The other major improvement that we made this year was buying a stainless steel pressing basket to replace the traditional "cheeses." "Cheeses,"for those of you that don't know, are linen cloth filled patties of ground apples that are stacked like coins and then pressed. Making "cheeses" is tedious and messy work, so we decided to buck tradition. I'm glad we did.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">So, with the advent of our new-fangled gadgets and extra apples, we boldly decided to double our production. We made 24 gallons of hard cider last year. This year we were shooting for 50 gallons of cider. We acheived that goal, then we shot it out of the water.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Even though we still had over a hundred pounds of apples in the garage, we were finally forced to close shop because we ran out of carboys to put the cider in. All told we ended up with an unthinkable 70 gallons of cider this year!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">I'll let you know how it turns out in a year.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here's a photo journal our weekend.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255041046567520418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEgByfRnAeL6VDGlcIoxedPlp5LPN7gukBuPPLbx_9JMGCsSuibVFfQdcC1QVZ7rto6CWQ0jBx8n0WCqoaJDP2uIIp_VJlvaMn4lXGnP3ApO-3UCIG6S8GQdjkPOL8Wkb9Nqoz065bl0/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+212.jpg" border="0" /><br />Here's my truck with all of my brewing tools in it. The guy at the homebrew shop dubbed it the "fermentation wagon."</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255044858938087554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5QRHpOCJTx67wxc8G5UOH8VlrCj7iPpfBy0M12qc1JWacjg4WChjfwrCLteagvhxcDaGS-mOonjgHCj_CIcBdOlo5ma-s7FSyw8-WmheHshPX4Crw_TFqLA4Vo9EvE8BaPm5vX4lIKU/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+236.jpg" border="0" /><br />We started with so many apples that I couldn't even get all them in the picture. This is the best I could do.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255041932719394114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHo6B4-P70OQUWkFk1HKOg_Cxg9sviuTNSUlYmiYuYE9G4togm9M7HdDLkjR9ikxN9h0RDVacdsqCpas4Q8sY3gM9as6cWaGGzu67XLzQWIQldzRWuGxlsVQ3EopRqPhR42tCueQ07HoU/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+220.jpg" border="0" /></span></div></div><br /><div><br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">Dan and I built this hydraulic press last year for $140. We operate it with a 2 ton bottle jack. If you look on the righ side of the press, just to the right of the orange bottle jack, you can see the white power switch that Dan fashioned onto the frame.<br /></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255042846477179970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1J9ET_Lb7JO96eSi9bpyidKGWMA3DMhB_hTIP6s2tQd0FmO5ya1MlNvktRuEs_7vV18twPQ9bL4hQbdmcIrbrk-Dm4VFkzyqpEb3CDKLhvwXGPii1jffpBIuBrbamD49XwGFz9N4ClE/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+219.jpg" border="0" /></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">As I've already mentioned, grinding apples is a pain. This year, however, was different. To ease our collective pain, Dan wrigged up a super-powered garbage disposal with a stainless steel sink. How do you like them apples?</span></p><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255252437339236322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1qDpO9MJ3gBVYQcDgZFswe5bBog8Y8QHKiEHBxdJKU94gT0gHn6cFl1YevqK6kt4epqg7HgMBvImIBGYDXfqPma7-Picdg4_ZoZ7Dv49aQXvwCzEdlSZhD0AozxeLNBkf-KqSuQ9dd4/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+223.jpg" border="0" /></span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here's another picture of "The Consumer."</span><br /></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255258599240545634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcgNrQjV0wBHvW8g-eDwZg_84c-SDeXERkVbN53W1AQwr8StkYDKZ-RRHlpOYu0kjh4OGCu_qeSIQKrlnbWVHYin36JO2WrtP9mBLbJHi4wgPA1GEw9QfX98yBfMDCRGXkh_S0QhE3o9Q/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+251.jpg" border="0" /><br />We did run into a little trouble with "The Consumer." He died on us about four hours into our first day of processing apples. We tripped his thermal sensor. That wasn't acceptable, so we chucked a few ice packs on him and waited for him to cool off.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255261683898348226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMB8gV4foHNUtCJBiNoS3yuV4S6gtXMOpO8_vODGbtQRmQq-Tetfe9GexK-N1P7KOqtr0OHIuRknWuIPDGYpWDrXu7XKdlRUuOKDIFW3nW2TjAzJdD3GMTigsDduOfH341sAPK9pHA74/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+254.jpg" border="0" /><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here's another picture of our cooling system.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255254228952676322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_0JxH7FWPQGgzUkR2uueepiUYWEr-7tUEV_Y8nfVPlcll7wfiv8JcTBPd-1rlWMbkM0YK9nizlP4pn3CNxU5JoTkTf3eZgutwF7Gt_SjpsuBQbp7dv8-kN6dLQ2BTtVIaz5wXsN06Iw/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+239.jpg" border="0" /></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">This stainless steel colander was Dan's brilliant solution to the messy and wasteful world of "cheeses." It worked like a champ after we drilled a bunch of holes in it and learned that we needed to wrap the pomace in cheese cloth before pressing so it wouldn't spit at us.</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255256499519739570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Aq3ttg1qVa03XKLg1sCEZWxtR3TZGsAy5QBf6_L-dtJn6sYL4mNt0O_wPkQxlD5Jv4aFGD_hTAOxDTItUWC54MIvVxHYJ4KFgBzd5AVyojBAIOoooet_9c2L3BLmQBOPG6rQm3-pSFs/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+244.jpg" border="0" /></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Dan's doing a little surgery on our strainer. The operation was a success. We'll probably drill more holes next year.</span> </p><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255262432489843826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9x2PeADZFOZmtrmTncGgy37zlz0eMEA59MPPNami8wPXZuS2v4cIb3vMnAAX6UuY7nzlAAxUI35EqiOixyZBLNRxE4qkr9M9MdU4LnkwHZKKrHmzY98co4aGC1xpUmE_bjZNwBhXRvk/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+256.jpg" border="0" /></span></div><br /><p>Here's Dan chugging some fresh worm juice.</p>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-53000016638127833332008-09-21T18:08:00.001-07:002008-09-25T00:16:36.339-07:00Photo Journal - 4<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0U4U7ZiJRIqf4AOwWkFQ5fWwu-tUPgLfoF-HIksn3Jh1ZfgqHAnsGmI3zDBTCiyJt9K-DCM4pqbLNxS26hJMfBiY6e9zCfyTmfCMOKNC23L0vK6tQTxqcyABSPiJV2IfHMMoZMu-Llw/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+542.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249854430610848658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0U4U7ZiJRIqf4AOwWkFQ5fWwu-tUPgLfoF-HIksn3Jh1ZfgqHAnsGmI3zDBTCiyJt9K-DCM4pqbLNxS26hJMfBiY6e9zCfyTmfCMOKNC23L0vK6tQTxqcyABSPiJV2IfHMMoZMu-Llw/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+542.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_it7uFm_RCsUIKIen9pa5LvCJC8FDcQoNuBFjs6iqwo1UOYUvSs9zhAfawcIQ0IfEjv5_h8bGD5RMcs8o_vwFWxc9ZXnyvfQzTB8gqGbuzjjH6Wb3QMLe-7wUOXqMNLJh4UF6dyT8gA/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+102.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249851305652722706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_it7uFm_RCsUIKIen9pa5LvCJC8FDcQoNuBFjs6iqwo1UOYUvSs9zhAfawcIQ0IfEjv5_h8bGD5RMcs8o_vwFWxc9ZXnyvfQzTB8gqGbuzjjH6Wb3QMLe-7wUOXqMNLJh4UF6dyT8gA/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+102.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjHxxrfw_3G0acWqqPOKhA9BwRtv84u3bpiGErYC7OBvFe5HNOOPK_s5ViBXZVbnvDvJiZn0PXE8CiYCDClqj2LhZHYl0dkCajezPYUclg3HxTy5_ferhXai3dwbwa09ViTsc08wH32Q/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+108.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249851158925546226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjHxxrfw_3G0acWqqPOKhA9BwRtv84u3bpiGErYC7OBvFe5HNOOPK_s5ViBXZVbnvDvJiZn0PXE8CiYCDClqj2LhZHYl0dkCajezPYUclg3HxTy5_ferhXai3dwbwa09ViTsc08wH32Q/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+108.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaT4PATvaRLGqGy4EoRpuhbliDiguzPdrAzw2RNTnJyF7QnTpPI4YgRkFH5vrN7ss7_uevJQqHCphyWubKJWb2evoo2mD7NV7pcTPovX7kOHtkSW8HwX0xiJ2ugaivO-NayWG24ZQ0M8A/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+103.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249851058979045570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaT4PATvaRLGqGy4EoRpuhbliDiguzPdrAzw2RNTnJyF7QnTpPI4YgRkFH5vrN7ss7_uevJQqHCphyWubKJWb2evoo2mD7NV7pcTPovX7kOHtkSW8HwX0xiJ2ugaivO-NayWG24ZQ0M8A/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+103.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HffhH43a66OXDmNT8fFpa0yzKHt7-blxC0EbBUCe29Lw-gYtXwLLu0vfskys-MkMteexlwfypAe8wUW_LmbWJbCbkHsw0muFbSiRZF6ry2KjMmqWGYJVGQh0yr9Z4invY5ua7DDhFcg/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249850810425462962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HffhH43a66OXDmNT8fFpa0yzKHt7-blxC0EbBUCe29Lw-gYtXwLLu0vfskys-MkMteexlwfypAe8wUW_LmbWJbCbkHsw0muFbSiRZF6ry2KjMmqWGYJVGQh0yr9Z4invY5ua7DDhFcg/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh81xkbjTqr5d1H-k6kYCn-ElrvSfSvYJ861_szkz_hq4-nRPWCyijqPDgGCYH25DBTr4YIr8ZrW2v2px2zCmm7v3eRbJ86KWu3NxgLcyzUb2elqeI4FswyKSyyY_Qj21Jjnme5W5ma_Sw/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+127.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249850592912776898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh81xkbjTqr5d1H-k6kYCn-ElrvSfSvYJ861_szkz_hq4-nRPWCyijqPDgGCYH25DBTr4YIr8ZrW2v2px2zCmm7v3eRbJ86KWu3NxgLcyzUb2elqeI4FswyKSyyY_Qj21Jjnme5W5ma_Sw/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+127.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyCZPRYUr7pxN8VW_W6cFF6ICIiirN-v-syPsUDT0pay6MsyW7sv3FprRWH_wUH_5E9I5MK8eXr53JEMNgW8dMtA-g6BhavAwoGx0buVnRTdmRHe-C0SPwzAJEnXEDW0eHgSpqe5Z4R8/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+087.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249850387264328690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyCZPRYUr7pxN8VW_W6cFF6ICIiirN-v-syPsUDT0pay6MsyW7sv3FprRWH_wUH_5E9I5MK8eXr53JEMNgW8dMtA-g6BhavAwoGx0buVnRTdmRHe-C0SPwzAJEnXEDW0eHgSpqe5Z4R8/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+087.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PluxuWsvbl_59zJXGtAntZowOh6cWIHMtWHrDU4Cke-ezqkoB0X5WH0H-0sYWCTZycloZ-iHSkwB0eOFbNxVRIdykntscdgenhqajup_jpCQe21tjNPXJeJrAHUU2ZaM0Jpw6lZMsRQ/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+427.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248649150063051282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PluxuWsvbl_59zJXGtAntZowOh6cWIHMtWHrDU4Cke-ezqkoB0X5WH0H-0sYWCTZycloZ-iHSkwB0eOFbNxVRIdykntscdgenhqajup_jpCQe21tjNPXJeJrAHUU2ZaM0Jpw6lZMsRQ/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+427.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjs_-IYuYUazJGy8FCyhEM3W3K5QQYOohoMKJdqoSJHeYRuKYaf_KM6eILQkA_ntIy53j2KKr07x1cc3W4D6UchZ0YlYfHBN9PuBLKIX7EtL4zi_FEkwrKPmxYFU1jFLf97ZUthMC0XuY/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+388.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248647318815061730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjs_-IYuYUazJGy8FCyhEM3W3K5QQYOohoMKJdqoSJHeYRuKYaf_KM6eILQkA_ntIy53j2KKr07x1cc3W4D6UchZ0YlYfHBN9PuBLKIX7EtL4zi_FEkwrKPmxYFU1jFLf97ZUthMC0XuY/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+388.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-80726365587069422042008-09-21T17:59:00.001-07:002008-09-24T14:05:54.721-07:00Day 2 - Hard Cider 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9p8vnpEiJ3jqpMG93c88Q-cO_aZh4Gk1DHqLOoaQjQrMudTiQ41ZbDM7H3yOc1Sjj6JGyN5n8F0zogjb2CfedL-_G3pNTRdlnOFpVo3nH1dLFP-VJCYboTpFXUTgsUKNYVsShkc3Nxlk/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+321.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249695624136116562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9p8vnpEiJ3jqpMG93c88Q-cO_aZh4Gk1DHqLOoaQjQrMudTiQ41ZbDM7H3yOc1Sjj6JGyN5n8F0zogjb2CfedL-_G3pNTRdlnOFpVo3nH1dLFP-VJCYboTpFXUTgsUKNYVsShkc3Nxlk/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+321.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">I've got a confession to make. It's been a week since I harvested my last apple. While I've been scratching around, Dan has been working. He picked another four boxes of apples.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;">I bought a fruit picker today at the hardware store. I can't believe I've been making hard cider for five years and I'm just now buying a fruit picker. Rediculousness!!!</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Harvesting fruit today was a joy. The sun was soft, the fall colors were ablaze, and I was in the shade most of the day.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">With the help of my super-human friend, Kristal, we harvested five giant boxes of apples today. We </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">even had time for a leisurely two hour luch break/photo shoot.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">After lunch we drove up the street and picked three trees in the middle of an abandoned lot. We would've kept picking, but a thunderstorm blew in.</span></div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oXSJciNZ-q5mhPSJhV9rVN9o7QtaiNmaB-8-lgord5XKanPQmuCuFt5NgiFmE28iihaURpGjEps1MFtibCR04ABFwv8DVVc-BMbfizZjLhh92HVZFpywQOYURFgjC0Bi_X0k-NO9lSA/s1600-h/IMG_0030.JPG"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248645432782281554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oXSJciNZ-q5mhPSJhV9rVN9o7QtaiNmaB-8-lgord5XKanPQmuCuFt5NgiFmE28iihaURpGjEps1MFtibCR04ABFwv8DVVc-BMbfizZjLhh92HVZFpywQOYURFgjC0Bi_X0k-NO9lSA/s320/IMG_0030.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Here's me tempting Old Man Death. I guess he wasn't in my neighborhood that day. Luck for me, eh?! </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6vEiANqPclSqPUf84jKlpHKPC_VDLFcgJIvAWStoJfq0j2gsbNkpT5pNbfKGilJ65mbnMOPRzZU7fh92jZioRI9H6gigUmx9GkpUMYqJLn4hXnck3g9DoEBNbOZKKiJ2H_HjcOD7c8c/s1600-h/IMG_0013.JPG"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248645290197035362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6vEiANqPclSqPUf84jKlpHKPC_VDLFcgJIvAWStoJfq0j2gsbNkpT5pNbfKGilJ65mbnMOPRzZU7fh92jZioRI9H6gigUmx9GkpUMYqJLn4hXnck3g9DoEBNbOZKKiJ2H_HjcOD7c8c/s320/IMG_0013.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Here's a great staged photo of me. This picture was taken while I was harvesting the first tree of the day.</span><br /></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249693597210024914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjSqMC6zY6HaEsyB70N1uIOmo4x9GY2fsL9b0bGJWGDUM9KyrC6QUKR0qiHAyikqVMt0dUxY34In_oqGluBp5D2qI8wikCcGvj9ouhlplGoqglzsvBQIDgLcDOE8XTmw-nlRRjXTta_k/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+269.jpg" border="0" /></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Me and my new fruit picker. This photo was taken after luch in the abandoned lot. Most of the apples were way up in the crowns of the trees. Thanks to Kristal's fearlessness about heights, we harvested two huge boxes of primo apples.</span></p><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCIwGNewWzMgwlasvQXv3hWfgHjR__-N4AqpRDGw62AMdMtLj-UOjrRpL8FA_-AIoUzCfQZlklJ3gkRnvD1mYnhjAZCUxvQeoCCtG_7d7tjZ_dQ3ss6ZHS8HjO4zUX3pmbDKND9CQLOo/s1600-h/IMG_0056.JPG"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248645018099760818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCIwGNewWzMgwlasvQXv3hWfgHjR__-N4AqpRDGw62AMdMtLj-UOjrRpL8FA_-AIoUzCfQZlklJ3gkRnvD1mYnhjAZCUxvQeoCCtG_7d7tjZ_dQ3ss6ZHS8HjO4zUX3pmbDKND9CQLOo/s320/IMG_0056.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here's a picture of an overflowing box of apples. You can't see my face, but I'm really happy.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;">It's been a wonderful year for apples. Dan and I have outdone ourselves this year. It's safe to say that we've harvested at least twice as many apples this year as we did last year. I'm glad that we're done harvesting apples, but now the hard work begins - grinding and pressing.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;">We're planning a "white washing" party on Friday the 26th. The name is in reference to the famous scene in Mark Twain's novel, Tom Sawyer, when a sly Tom fools a bunch of neighborhood kids into painting the fence</span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"> for him.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Grinding and pressing apples is a tedious and dirty work, but it is fun - at least for the first couple of hours.</span></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-25852029700611214522008-09-20T19:23:00.001-07:002008-09-22T16:16:00.386-07:00Photo Journal - 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9Os8KpjcGhfgLnDR_BqOrA2BxltR4A4Bv8WOzoxN8VrWadlKdOljd2k36MK6z9gsqbH6z37d1c3lPYmn82r7EReaQkz1I58Bif3WPcjN7hpNAImJs-51WxaySDudpJACwIKVU5yzVBw/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+234.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248295990268755666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9Os8KpjcGhfgLnDR_BqOrA2BxltR4A4Bv8WOzoxN8VrWadlKdOljd2k36MK6z9gsqbH6z37d1c3lPYmn82r7EReaQkz1I58Bif3WPcjN7hpNAImJs-51WxaySDudpJACwIKVU5yzVBw/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+234.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxstDNZJ6gJdCUxDMRX0L0XRZfX3mW6cUGTn2Bar3emWFd18or_yV1cNJ3E5ZQY7alnlwFUbFGiEawsuTggteOnYXlwdhNWcTXKJsVS7wtcGRGvuut7awxglX8GYESR_gaQz-Cs8XRv8/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+240.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248295805444384978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxstDNZJ6gJdCUxDMRX0L0XRZfX3mW6cUGTn2Bar3emWFd18or_yV1cNJ3E5ZQY7alnlwFUbFGiEawsuTggteOnYXlwdhNWcTXKJsVS7wtcGRGvuut7awxglX8GYESR_gaQz-Cs8XRv8/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+240.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Q0mnI1nidi4B3-80Z07fIeuqejinvhtk-pVSU3KZFmAJtxzfMdYMK2jE2tjlKW0R5V-x3d8YvrDwJep-n56cIBh5mTIU6Co3RJQbOSh0AnkJEpeST8m6HckPTFcEDi-bELPzekbXhtI/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+257.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248295661524303698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Q0mnI1nidi4B3-80Z07fIeuqejinvhtk-pVSU3KZFmAJtxzfMdYMK2jE2tjlKW0R5V-x3d8YvrDwJep-n56cIBh5mTIU6Co3RJQbOSh0AnkJEpeST8m6HckPTFcEDi-bELPzekbXhtI/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+257.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJfAdFHyhPo16sIibuvOxRIGsyG607ihymjbP-yJITmV5WTEoXb99pEN6mDm7kZk7rvSadygFQSYbOttLQwtU5bOOudNiLTQCUCOyHobmHTGJYex7jbCfmuqplI_AUlZ3_LD_TOQUQLQ/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+263.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248295458138027490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJfAdFHyhPo16sIibuvOxRIGsyG607ihymjbP-yJITmV5WTEoXb99pEN6mDm7kZk7rvSadygFQSYbOttLQwtU5bOOudNiLTQCUCOyHobmHTGJYex7jbCfmuqplI_AUlZ3_LD_TOQUQLQ/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+263.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-76472277773255455382008-09-19T17:51:00.001-07:002008-09-22T16:16:43.470-07:00Photo Journal - 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67MHQyFZx_Lt5BbKlauA0E11POa6fv310-Oo9bkOsMNUadTmV73JUF2nF1xTM0e1XCN28qVejMkUcssNAPqlu6WA71jNNylF4UTJNogppwE4z4pmtmXfIjtVkKxboIN5XIwtXrxbQm50/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+154.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248009352651667938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67MHQyFZx_Lt5BbKlauA0E11POa6fv310-Oo9bkOsMNUadTmV73JUF2nF1xTM0e1XCN28qVejMkUcssNAPqlu6WA71jNNylF4UTJNogppwE4z4pmtmXfIjtVkKxboIN5XIwtXrxbQm50/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+154.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSstTMJ8lYC57ejbricgDjvRQrF0lxC_-d4H7IX_djjXBEIUQ0wv3PtEoYFBZ5iBT9UmJmXbPSlTOEMbypF8nLHYaTR1GUQ_u7GeUide2TWtM3VU8o0Jf2mEIUJOZ0q9TNyeFGECIrQEw/s1600-h/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+060.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248005727651454754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSstTMJ8lYC57ejbricgDjvRQrF0lxC_-d4H7IX_djjXBEIUQ0wv3PtEoYFBZ5iBT9UmJmXbPSlTOEMbypF8nLHYaTR1GUQ_u7GeUide2TWtM3VU8o0Jf2mEIUJOZ0q9TNyeFGECIrQEw/s320/Taylor+Mar+26+2007+060.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpne0eudBwlyXYJpxau715Fatdn2HpE2x9sG3A2tYxIhAEtydBSw8RSva19NOGWF2cuvj-MjJigqGBXz5ypmzzfQcnBs3ZdCTqGUSURIIURjTXzKAsj62lIbVs4foVz5RUEb6BGhfO8c/s1600-h/IMG_1897.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248004476112121282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpne0eudBwlyXYJpxau715Fatdn2HpE2x9sG3A2tYxIhAEtydBSw8RSva19NOGWF2cuvj-MjJigqGBXz5ypmzzfQcnBs3ZdCTqGUSURIIURjTXzKAsj62lIbVs4foVz5RUEb6BGhfO8c/s320/IMG_1897.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIv3E2jNF9B7Crv3Qub1VYCHgOUHHl-sw2YVuvfED_Xk7UQpSiekhtxUfqqSih7Zz2YNEis5ljPe8zd_MIS-9MiJqV3-jdSXDx6O9lYbBHYTEd37pwvXw0c7fWsY40TLC_IWQtgOvhts/s1600-h/IMG_1853.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248003890125427106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIv3E2jNF9B7Crv3Qub1VYCHgOUHHl-sw2YVuvfED_Xk7UQpSiekhtxUfqqSih7Zz2YNEis5ljPe8zd_MIS-9MiJqV3-jdSXDx6O9lYbBHYTEd37pwvXw0c7fWsY40TLC_IWQtgOvhts/s320/IMG_1853.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb3G0EsPcRIqNQ5HqSgHrceld8726hcGJyk_erHM1hyphenhyphenzKZl9J4dc-rt_B5fVfgiamgKZVqYQgo5ImhPVlMNNb1OE9EDm3tt9JWdM6bcifvc00FnnIbCkkwF1PAoqMwV_Hzt7ozVdPqnQ/s1600-h/IMG_1835.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248003387886893090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb3G0EsPcRIqNQ5HqSgHrceld8726hcGJyk_erHM1hyphenhyphenzKZl9J4dc-rt_B5fVfgiamgKZVqYQgo5ImhPVlMNNb1OE9EDm3tt9JWdM6bcifvc00FnnIbCkkwF1PAoqMwV_Hzt7ozVdPqnQ/s320/IMG_1835.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnhjSAFrsYdYt9TkXmd1mHh4yvIHRwLEkIvzSFMOh_QyuVnr-VWc9owhfSczUhm51V3D1-0L8GTOBoUuAl7e8DnITQ2k7b_99tLvGWxpyLDWY-Ca7bKM6SVSSN3vy5tEuUwPYFr0X07w/s1600-h/IMG_0286.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248001151554897650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnhjSAFrsYdYt9TkXmd1mHh4yvIHRwLEkIvzSFMOh_QyuVnr-VWc9owhfSczUhm51V3D1-0L8GTOBoUuAl7e8DnITQ2k7b_99tLvGWxpyLDWY-Ca7bKM6SVSSN3vy5tEuUwPYFr0X07w/s320/IMG_0286.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-90224764166388441312008-09-17T22:58:00.000-07:002008-09-22T16:16:28.595-07:00Photo Journal - 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVW0WeUpDlFpDTEr52IM10ztHj3hHAEI2pSbw_05SCxviVWteWOFjxbajnHnsnGLwpik_BQsduvD1ZBdY_BcnQ0XXoNCL4hdmne8nXFyoAws8Ek3PPhJyWcnk4nK49_O-rCkgTGuvh4Q/s1600-h/IMG_1561.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247243498381346850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVW0WeUpDlFpDTEr52IM10ztHj3hHAEI2pSbw_05SCxviVWteWOFjxbajnHnsnGLwpik_BQsduvD1ZBdY_BcnQ0XXoNCL4hdmne8nXFyoAws8Ek3PPhJyWcnk4nK49_O-rCkgTGuvh4Q/s320/IMG_1561.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86lkELkHnTTDpI-g-XJ9CpprX8kJz_nHkPsqS8-4tJVQ4wwnckrkpNj-pEk07vPSYji-hWqu1-JYGEHSrpV-uO4xOy8Bkpc4jdC9az39jmSGXoFk18yF6YctdDWquiEdReptH9x7y1eU/s1600-h/IMG_1582.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247242344115237762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86lkELkHnTTDpI-g-XJ9CpprX8kJz_nHkPsqS8-4tJVQ4wwnckrkpNj-pEk07vPSYji-hWqu1-JYGEHSrpV-uO4xOy8Bkpc4jdC9az39jmSGXoFk18yF6YctdDWquiEdReptH9x7y1eU/s320/IMG_1582.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqzWqbG9TmO19sxgQzy9kQYMiLZN2JglTgHW62Nuk0eNVpphBV-130W1P_i-CdldtZvpftcJ07vNWYlQ_Vc8oz391kR30Aakc-q_wfLhReyezdzUlusfvHx5Si2a3BrAuhV7PilDKoic/s1600-h/IMG_1775.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247239735502695154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqzWqbG9TmO19sxgQzy9kQYMiLZN2JglTgHW62Nuk0eNVpphBV-130W1P_i-CdldtZvpftcJ07vNWYlQ_Vc8oz391kR30Aakc-q_wfLhReyezdzUlusfvHx5Si2a3BrAuhV7PilDKoic/s320/IMG_1775.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMA0BdjL2BWggFfiqKd11zaFlInDWcCK0D_DuU0Pu3LP6qUrqv27xOWm6z5gVn4DwHk_377P5gFnMrgLe2Junw-F9F1uxWiAyt0kHdfPw5MeR9ZDPbABL2ecwqyCwT6uSkZl85Bg0Ggw/s1600-h/IMG_1724.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247238661315162514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMA0BdjL2BWggFfiqKd11zaFlInDWcCK0D_DuU0Pu3LP6qUrqv27xOWm6z5gVn4DwHk_377P5gFnMrgLe2Junw-F9F1uxWiAyt0kHdfPw5MeR9ZDPbABL2ecwqyCwT6uSkZl85Bg0Ggw/s320/IMG_1724.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKaWgJMF8rxI9ZOysIUuebro8tNhTov3Mi-j0GywP3IhQenvwcILPIS0Tahjf7Dqz0soG5iDwg2Hl8tob22D5FSYEzhJjOrHMdCZH0lKm7mjb97rON_PSnXElA5h22BsGs3eOKUYml9Y/s1600-h/IMG_1739.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247238475446288866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKaWgJMF8rxI9ZOysIUuebro8tNhTov3Mi-j0GywP3IhQenvwcILPIS0Tahjf7Dqz0soG5iDwg2Hl8tob22D5FSYEzhJjOrHMdCZH0lKm7mjb97rON_PSnXElA5h22BsGs3eOKUYml9Y/s320/IMG_1739.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2D92BlBWnLTkWA47sq0qTgpSBzq2Q73XUPfSf0Xtev7bcIo8Y1P4Ov5-8ySd-OMCfSb4TPd73IeoLsrS9vGVljhQMPdpWqVfThlHbdT_qYUP_132ArE1AByzMAaEgHTIm98E79AqqLA8/s1600-h/IMG_1731.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247238083430767122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2D92BlBWnLTkWA47sq0qTgpSBzq2Q73XUPfSf0Xtev7bcIo8Y1P4Ov5-8ySd-OMCfSb4TPd73IeoLsrS9vGVljhQMPdpWqVfThlHbdT_qYUP_132ArE1AByzMAaEgHTIm98E79AqqLA8/s320/IMG_1731.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjaLtCBVVR4WkwKQ0_uJ_76EfxOfTrPoDGL7RcI-vgMM6KgPUQkd3drjRkHdPbIPvqvSPMP2vIinytbMmr_9Cl7KR0uuRwU9sK0f3eaNYP3TU4oF4WjlNqjlqP2WRi-1ZNPvr3OhJs2M/s1600-h/IMG_1610.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247237542213662434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjaLtCBVVR4WkwKQ0_uJ_76EfxOfTrPoDGL7RcI-vgMM6KgPUQkd3drjRkHdPbIPvqvSPMP2vIinytbMmr_9Cl7KR0uuRwU9sK0f3eaNYP3TU4oF4WjlNqjlqP2WRi-1ZNPvr3OhJs2M/s320/IMG_1610.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs27xahVvoj-ZqSSXZuG2OSf57Y-eOMYjdXDZWv4E7wAETukioR2-0ifjHjYYQ84Tsnk9239cD0A_f6zJMaJuxhOqYE5we2Zrl3LpLAU_QEgjXO-5u4GDtInvCzjvjnenrT8xQyn9HwCU/s1600-h/IMG_1628.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247237413226944658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs27xahVvoj-ZqSSXZuG2OSf57Y-eOMYjdXDZWv4E7wAETukioR2-0ifjHjYYQ84Tsnk9239cD0A_f6zJMaJuxhOqYE5we2Zrl3LpLAU_QEgjXO-5u4GDtInvCzjvjnenrT8xQyn9HwCU/s320/IMG_1628.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSo0cDEjMhaTl3nkI1tXuCUWmEfdOUDU0mu4PdA4VH-P6nn_xZMzEzcp5k03ifdvp08M2r3TNSFh9mfb4u0TC9qhLv8OvATWiEAqKqu8FN943z7bAPjxjWhEoTZeXMyLzii9hfMp0ZkY/s1600-h/IMG_1772.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247237150753863474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSo0cDEjMhaTl3nkI1tXuCUWmEfdOUDU0mu4PdA4VH-P6nn_xZMzEzcp5k03ifdvp08M2r3TNSFh9mfb4u0TC9qhLv8OvATWiEAqKqu8FN943z7bAPjxjWhEoTZeXMyLzii9hfMp0ZkY/s320/IMG_1772.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-52970396903644267682008-09-13T18:05:00.000-07:002008-09-21T00:35:43.657-07:00Day 1 - Hard Cider 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSM9J2vq1K7ye1zhYy1QMMe1AmrIAFRt8_KQDYlTggKbZ-K-fIUfpg4bYXSJ6Hp7FXsHT_Oy7dLmiTBNPx4FOVeHnI8tbbBV206zdFtOjr8WkxITTQwsz4fSVKDy9C95-2tSMnVtFYBno/s1600-h/IMG_1671.JPG"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248364503923179170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSM9J2vq1K7ye1zhYy1QMMe1AmrIAFRt8_KQDYlTggKbZ-K-fIUfpg4bYXSJ6Hp7FXsHT_Oy7dLmiTBNPx4FOVeHnI8tbbBV206zdFtOjr8WkxITTQwsz4fSVKDy9C95-2tSMnVtFYBno/s320/IMG_1671.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><br /><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Today's harvest was glorious!!!</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">My day started at 7:15am. To get ready for the long and dirty day, I threw on my old Carhartt bibs, a pair of broken boots, and jammed a ratty sun hat on my head.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">I arrived at Dan's place a little after 9am. I found him in standing in the driveway hosing out the plastic bins that we were going to use to haul apples.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">I was happy to learn that Dan's dog, Sampson, "The Ghandi Of Dogs," was going to pick apples with us.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246122693912542002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSf6z2M-oDEaGGoxof-Vckz9Qrcl1GS-JMGOow2e6fcxzjQFlf1bfCItn_MotdXsXdmlADLeTCv0YRfefvu_4NuMF03j0UuHswHips-nHiTT7Zwxk2cASfCVt53gTBLmnwLIhBMzqvsB8/s320/IMG_1677.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here he is in the back of my '86 Toyota exhuding his dog like tranquility.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">First stop, Eldorado Springs. The trees that we picked last yeare were empty this year. On the way into the canyon we passed this tree. Sadly, because the tree was growing on a steep embankment, we couldn't reach the primo apples at the tippy-top.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248360744235494178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGYeieMmOdNaay8mtGP98CIrI-zCM1tmyVg0JArLZo9Yc75-ReddRHPzVOyzR7SyBvAlgowlLNpPQGXSkcI5XDoGSW9kseNWiSwNUo5ATgqr6QlU-CqckiArmoNot_ASc-o4s6qa0vk4/s320/IMG_1646.JPG" border="0" /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">We did, however, pick the first apple of the season off of it.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246121219690964066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHYv_Q8GNi6tTVeMtpTYRVEjiJ4iWH-zf5bYDbDUaHZOHQFpk0p9oYGMFBpjcNHmAtD81hHaYXNGvIC1r5kdjRCq4CQMLLU3N-Sn4ebHDj2k6hNygMxrYUXg-MjDc9U8xAnPocxFfXFo/s320/IMG_1648.JPG" border="0" /><br />Here is the first apple of 2008.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">I always get really tired when I see the first apple of the season. 10 months from now, after the long and tedious process of sweating, crushing, pressing, fermenting, stabelizing, racking, aging and bottling the "green" hard cider, I'll be able to enjoy its delicious essence.<br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here is me at our third stop of the day. The tree was huge and drooping with fruit, but we only harvested one box.<br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246123165929074882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQDcPjUokECtYST3p8fLw8sEBIzCa6bwr2xIFWJoWiUStaZkS9ettjccUMdL7ND8jBJ62OY0FDsKxY_o3K3OJ7IDvdyh4oiWow2USuqch9KELyEsfqm89rs5Wf-stVhZJ_686946sbTk/s320/IMG_1680.JPG" border="0" /><br />Here is an arty shot of the apples in a container. This was taken in a scorching parking lot of a condo complex in South Boulder. I think we harvested three big boxes of apples.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246122925986130034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EezD7lHwybR3bO4Mx7Gjp_RmDuOOwHFTkHhHC6FU7fpkjA62QVnNDRi6npYlm_EQuCXCI42y7yhO4H6VEusqSLOJWruzIkQTalI9-SrmbquHb9qkkwUZhRLmBBU51GgJc4W6KP6oDa0/s320/IMG_1655.JPG" border="0" /></span></div></div><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family:courier new;">There's Dan, "The Cider Man," up in an apple tree.<br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248366460618748274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIHHo25qVGCKvzuL-xA4VVr4MT7mi9xvleZa0GIST_Qb3w2H5tbAQBJaNSAoH8CNuLjITCVC_oltyanxn98uL5zWNPW88irFVNrQBtAhwMWRsa_21a5K36iRNc_zmQI4hSqpLCic3zwk/s320/IMG_1686.JPG" border="0" /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">After lunch we went to our next "appointment." It was a beautiful tree slouching with crimson tinted apples. I didn't notice at first, but we weren't the only ones harvesting fruit that day. At our feet there must of been thousands of busy hornets eating the rotten fruit on the ground.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248367311880917026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuZdIxcb6kacISKbq_RMbPXa6adymS4FmVHudU6c0sgQD_1BkjfIxrHNnDvczaykE4Ktwv_Do7cui3wLGYdHUrUPFFMBWynjjT6dBIO8geei7F84o8v2jDvniZQn42K_3jbX9nYJzSdM/s320/IMG_1704.JPG" border="0" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">After harvesting the crimson apples, we decided that it was time to go home.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">In all, we picked 7 1/2 big boxes of apples today.<br /><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246123595919810514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oD1JNYmQ-YDSZC-DlNGbO3VVnnVYA_1P1WJzf_LV7dhpN3020Rgl8ioKyGnY48LjlBsIVmbdE-vhxt-pUgkxcftTu-W6tbxZF89FSCt9Ajq-Rb3O3aj4crvD2DEadsd6hQLXBxtxK6g/s320/IMG_1716.JPG" border="0" /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Here is a picture of what Dan's living room now look like. </span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Last year, I stored 1000 pounds of apples in my living room. At night when it was really quiet I could hear the maggots eating the apples. It sounded like a bunch of tiny hands crumpling litte rice paper squares. I'd never heard anything like it. I thought it was cool.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">My brother's girlfriend, Lee, didn't think it was cool. In fact, she hated it, especially after I flicked a writhing maggot at her.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">We found eggs and worms and egg sacks everywhere for months. </span></div></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Its so worth it!!!</span></div></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-84407780730921891642008-09-12T17:14:00.000-07:002008-09-12T23:32:09.173-07:00Pre Season - Hard Cider 2008<span style="font-family:courier new;">Well, it has been raining off and on for the last two days, and I'm not happy about it. All vintners know that heavy rains preceding the harvest produce insipid products.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Ideally, I would've like it to be warm and dry at least five days before harvesting. Stable weather leading up to the harvest is conducive to intense, flavorful fruit, which makes sharp, complex hard cider.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow. Otherwise I'll have to put the harvest off for a while.</span>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-82609036543266429122008-09-08T23:33:00.000-07:002008-09-12T17:40:18.865-07:00Hard Cider - Getting To the Core<span style="font-family:courier new;">I made my first batch of hard cider four years ago while I was still living in Seattle. At the time I was working for a growing homebrew shop, Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply Co. Part of my responsibility as an employee, beyond being able to drink and work simultaniously, was to learn the in's and out's of making beer and wine. I enjoyed this aspect of my job immensely. Initially, all I wanted to make were stouts, porters, and super hoppy Northwest IPAs. For a while I was happy making beer. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Then about two months before wine season, my boss, John, handed me a book called "Techiques in Home Winemaking" and told me to read it. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">I made 10 gallons of wine that fall - five gallons red (cab. sav./merlot), five gallons white (sav. blanc./semmillon). </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">On a side note, my parents recently found two cases of wine (one red, one white) cellaring in the garage.</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> During a recent trip back to Seattle, my broter brought a few bottle back with him. I can't wait to serve this special wine with the </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">wild turkey I plan to harvest this year.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Anyway, my wine experiment got me thinking about other annual fruits that could be fermented. I immediately thought about apples because it seemed like everyone, including my next door neighbor, had an ancient apple tree in their back yard bowing with free, organic, ripe fruit. With that simple thought, I started knocking on doors and asking people if I could pick apples. People gladly let me pick their trees clean. That's how I got started.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Last year, with the help of my partner, Dan Richelson, we harvested 1000 pounds of apples and made 25 gallons of hard cider - 255 12oz. bottles. Its delicious and deceptively strong (8.5 ABV).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;">This year we plan on making about the same volume. </span><span style="font-family:Courier New;">The madness starts up again on September 13th.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZXBd1cF8LUM7WwIFM0wdArfz4uz4QHXzet0OVZZRpESVhKJqQAZP_UCq8KK3P4v9KAI-VXg41xsGWvSc44f8UZWaLMMipdvKBjVaAbXE2LmRwEQ8Zpw9TkJcX_dtDYO2GR2iumMiCMQ/s1600-h/IMG_1563%5B1%5D"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244236115228949250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZXBd1cF8LUM7WwIFM0wdArfz4uz4QHXzet0OVZZRpESVhKJqQAZP_UCq8KK3P4v9KAI-VXg41xsGWvSc44f8UZWaLMMipdvKBjVaAbXE2LmRwEQ8Zpw9TkJcX_dtDYO2GR2iumMiCMQ/s320/IMG_1563%5B1%5D" border="0" /></a>Here's what's left of last year's cider! </div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382348453679534808.post-43240159931756993372008-09-08T21:22:00.000-07:002008-09-10T08:18:39.401-07:00A Check From Comcast<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmxYfxfZLeH6iC8AHjI492iG87Xc8_GCofNI6IMSjrvXsHcYeJtlZKnqeXZ-_XFuJbkiOUkVY98YaCzeB8rZW4_Ljx9Wb58B_vtPFlLFYQGG1mJ2iJlwFvhmyd1Uus7tdI51bg5GgAAU/s1600-h/IMG_1568%5B1%5D"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244240099514709794" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmxYfxfZLeH6iC8AHjI492iG87Xc8_GCofNI6IMSjrvXsHcYeJtlZKnqeXZ-_XFuJbkiOUkVY98YaCzeB8rZW4_Ljx9Wb58B_vtPFlLFYQGG1mJ2iJlwFvhmyd1Uus7tdI51bg5GgAAU/s320/IMG_1568%5B1%5D" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">As my brother and I were making dinner tonight he handed me a letter that he'd been holding for me. It was a non-descript letter from Comcast. It was addressed to me. I took a deep breath and ripped it open. Cautiously, due to previous experience, I timidly eyed the letterhead. I half expected a fist to fly out and sucker-punch me. To my surprise, Comcast wrote me a check. Look how thoughtful they are.</span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Forest M. Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069833337522618493noreply@blogger.com0