It's hard to believe it's almost winter as the warm weather keeps its grip on Colorado. One of my favorite things every year, when the temperatures typically drop, is to hunker down and start crafting. I would consider myself a relatively creative and imaginative person in general, but with gifting on the horizon, and the days getting shorter, I find tons of joy in creating concoctions, editing old personal photos that I didn't have time to get to, and work on labors of love for people I cherish. This week, with my windows open and 70 degree winds blowing in, I began to de-thaw the last of the apples I picked at the end of summer in preparation for a Thanksgiving pie.
I couldn't help but smile as I tossed them in brown sugar and cinnamon, thinking about how sweet the night was that we gathered anything that would carry the ripening fruit and headed off to secret orchards to collect as much as we could.
Before summer faded into this long lasting fall, before flowers lost their last buds, Colorado was plentiful with fruits that did not get effected by a freeze this year. Apples, peaches, pears, blackberries, all multiplied over months of great weather and a little tender loving care. So when I was told that there was a secret location to pick whatever I could carry I excitedly jumped at the opportunity at the offer.
We went into it with grand plans for butters, jams, chips, and pies, and soon lost ourselves to seeing how many we could get, and how high we could get them from. Shaking limbs, climbing branches, jumping and reaching as far as fingers would stretch, it wasn't until we got back to the car after multiple trips that we realized we had a heck of a lot of apples to craft with.
Even writing this I can't help but to smile about this perfect day, and the many perfect nights that came from carefully pealing, cooking, mashing, and slicing our bounty. I would give out all my creations before November, leaving only enough apples frozen to bake a pie or two. They were a nice reminder, on the most thankful day of the year, of all that I have to be grateful for. For people that know my wild and adventurous spirit that is easily intrigued, and my genuine love of crafting things to gift to people, for the sharing of secrets, and the starting of new traditions.
Though the weather continues to masquerade as summer, I can feel the pull inside me to expanding my creative projects, and opening up my imagination to allow it to blossom.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week and weekend, and were able to spend it with the people you love the most. I know I did.
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