We opened up the apple store today – two weeks earlier than originally planned – but the apples were ready so we had to be.

It started out a bit rough – Jared got up early to make 14 caramel apples – 4 had been requested so we figured we’d be okay – you don’t want to make too many with the heat –the caramel sags with humidity. Once he finished we received a call requesting 7 more – back downstairs to heat the caramel and outside to pick a few more apples.

9:00 – we’re open! I only have Viking’s for sale – I promised people five kinds of apples and i just have one! ahhh! Unfortunately for us, the weather wasn’t working with us to make our opening morning run smoothly. It was raining just enough to keep the apples wet delaying dry time which also delays sorting.

9:01 – our first customer of the season arrives – I still don’t have much for apples. Luckily, it was the 7 caramel apple order. Turns out, she completely lucked out! She had no idea that today was our opening day and that we typically don’t open until mid-August. She had some family visiting and she wanted them to try the caramel apples so she thought of us. It was my lucky day because she didn’t want any apples.

By 9:15 I had some apples in stock and I was feeling okay.

The rest of the day ran fairly smoothly. We had a customer here and there and were able to accomplish a lot – like getting up the rest of the signs and even the barn quilt hung!

One thing you may notice as you pull into our orchard will be parts of the driveway coned off. This is so the girls can still have a little space to chalk and play without me worrying quite so much about cars. The girls also really enjoy chalking on the cones – of course, always pushing the limit!

New Product

You will see some new products at the orchard this year. The first that I want to tell you about are the Iron Art Glass. You can see a few hanging in between the gourds Diane dyed and painted for birdhouses. I mixed in a few more between the hanging plants on our little deck. They are just stunning up close and they are all handmade. The perfect addition to a window or garden nook. A variety of amazing products from Four Elements can also now be purchased at the orchard. We have herbal teas, infused oils, some soap, body butter bars, anointing perfume, moisture cream, and lip balm. I strongly recommend reading more about Four Elements HERE but one of the great things is that all these products are made close by in Baraboo, WI. I just love to support local! The other new thing I want to tell you about this season are ‘Grow-A-Note’ plant-able greeting cards from Greenfield Paper Company. These are just fantastic – seeds are part of the paper of these cards so after you send them instead of throwing the card away the receiver can plant it! A card and a gift in one!

These are just a few of the new things you can find at the orchard this year! Hope you can find some time to visit us tomorrow between 10 and 5 to check it all out! We still have LOTS of caramel apples! Yummy!