The other day at the store, I had a lady customer come in…we’ll call her Molly. Molly purchased a few different bags of apples and then paid me. Her change included fifty cents and she made a point to ask me if she could have both quarters as state quarters. I wasn’t busy so I had no problem with this. I asked her what state in particular she was looking for…Arizona, Arizona is a hard one to find.

My next questions, “Would you like me to look through all my quarters for you?”

Molly responded, “No, that’s not necessary.” Me, “I sort of want to…” and I continued to search.

Mid-way through my handful I came across ALASKA! My parents were just there and it turns out this is a state Molly doesn’t say no to! I continued to look and there, at the end of my handful…was Arizona! Molly was so happy and I was so happy I could help! It took me two extra minutes to look through my handful and I’m pretty sure I made Molly’s day. Little things can make a big difference…

Later that same day, another lady came in on the hunt for something with butterflies. What a fun challenge! I never realized how many items with butterflies we had to offer. Again, I was able to please my customer and we found what she was looking for.

If you ever happen to have a ‘scavenger-hunt’ type challenge. Make sure to stop by…I’ll help in anyway possible (as long as things aren’t too busy…).

It's been a busy weekend and Sunday has just begun! Our garage sale ended yesterday and I'm pretty sure all the sellers were pleased with the results. I thought I'd quick hop on here before church and put up the recipe for today: (from the Wisconsin Apple Grower's Association Cookbook)

Apple Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Nancy Stulp, Wisconsin Rapids
1993 Finalist

4 cups apples, unpeeled and diced
2-1/2 cups cantaloupe balls (1 small cantaloupe)
2 cups sliced celery
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 ounces blue cheese crumbled
Lettuce leaves

Combine apples, cantaloupe and celery in a large bowl. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise and blue cheese in a small bowl. Add to apple mixture, and toss lightly. Serve on a lettuce leaf. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Many customers come in and ask us if we grow that apple that their grandmother’s told them you only need one apple for one pie – of course we do – the Wolf River. I’ll have to admit that we really don’t actually get apples the size for a pie (we think it has to do with the fact that we grow dwarf trees) but we do get them quite large…(yup, that one was 1.36 lbs) I’ve heard from a lot of people that they really how these Wolf River’s work when making applesauce and even one gentleman that swears by them for his apple butter. The guys picked quite a few bushels of these beautiful, large apples this year so this is definitely your chance to try them out!

A Little More Info:

Cooking Tips
Can be eaten fresh if they haven't been off the tree too long. Otherwise, use for baking , apple sauce or dried apple chips (we’ve never tried this…).
Storage
Does not store well.
History
A man named William Springer was emigrating from Quebec, Canada, to America. Along the way to Wisconsin, he bought apples, probably Alexander apples.
He planted seeds from the apples when he arrived at his new farm along the Wolf River in Fremont, Wisconsin. The Wolf River apple sprang from one of those seeds; he noticed the new tree sometime before 1881.

From Wikipedia:

Apple very large, some growing to size of large grapefruit. Red with yellow blush. Once very popular commercial apple in United States but presently relegated to upper Midwest if grown for profit. Occasionally can be found growing wild in backcountry thickets or abandoned land in Shenandoah Valley. Named for area where found. Feral trees can be brought back with care and pruning.

Stop by and check them out soon!

A few days ago the girls, Jared and I went out to pick the very first crop of pears we’ve gotten from the few trees we planted. The girls were good helpers at first! Then, the six-wheeler occupied them for a while so we were able to get them all off the tree.

We are currently trying to ripen the pears so we can determine whether their quality is good enough to sell. We found that you pick pears before they are ripe because the rot from the inside out…if they are falling, it could be too late. I hope ours taste good…I really like pears. I’ll keep you posted! I must say, it was a lot of fun picking those pears!