We're in the midst of bedding down the garden for winter. Stakes are laying all over the place and Lil has comandeered these 8 foot bamboo poles for playing pole vault, riding them like a witch's broomstick, and fighting imaginary monsters. It's a cheap toy, yet another version of the 'box and a stick', always favorite playthings.

On Sunday, Alex and I were surveying the yard and noticed that some apples on our mature, very tall apple tree were ripe. The ones that fell to the ground on their own were getting eaten by deer or dogs or raccoons, all of whom are less worthy of organic apples than us. We were pondering whether to rent or buy a pole-mounted apple picker when Lil ran towards the garage. She returned with a bamboo pole and started whacking at the apples. The ripe ones fell to the ground where we could pick them up.

Brilliant, my new eight-year-old!

Alex grabbed a pole too and I found a Trug. Twenty minutes of fun hitting and collecting later and we had a bushel of apples. Obviously many bruised when they hit the ground but for making cider, that doesn't matter.

We would love to let you hit an apple with a bamboo pole and see cider pressing in action. We're holding a Cider Pressing Open House at 1224 E Cooke Rd Columbus OH 43224 on Saturday October 26 from 2-5 pm. See you there!