Foraging for Foliage and Apples

Another beautiful clear day with warm temperatures. A gorgeous morning. For the afternoon, Alan was the man with the plan. His proposal: lunch at Balsam's, foliage tour, followed by apple picking just east of Colebrook. I enthusiastically endorsed and we headed out. Balsam's was hopping -- we had to wait for a table -- but enjoyed the view from the terrace as we waited.

After a tasty lunch, we headed back towards Colebrook over Rte 26, which is undergoing major rebuilding -- totally digging out the old road and putting in a new one. The apple orchard beckoned at the entrance to Fish Hatchery Rd and we took the lure, heading up into the hills until the top. A beautiful small orchard called Two Sparrows. We picked half a bushel of Cortland and McIntosh for ourselves and Priscilla and Hans. The apple trees were so beautiful and just loaded with apples. We picked our limit quickly!

On our way back, we journeyed about searching out back roads and finding Weir Tree Farms, where we get our Christmas tree (FedEx'd to our front door :-), along with Coleman State Park and the Diamond ponds. Mt Monadonack was majestic (and very large) in the distance, overseeing all of our meanderings.

Back at camp, the lake was calm and the light lovely. We headed down to the beach for our first canoe ride (the lake has been rough) and there came upon about 300 geese floating in the cove. As we came onto the beach, they started honking, moving offshore, settling for a bit, but then as we got the canoe in the water, they headed out. They left in waves, twenty or so at a time, beating their wings against the water -- flap, flap, flap, flap -- and then taking to the air, clearing the trees at the far end of the lake. We last saw them outlined in the sky above Sable Mountain.

We thought we might see Priscilla out and about on the lake but did not. Our small jaunt turned into a half lake tour, which, since its 1200 acres, wasn't small. Dusk was falling as we got back to the beach. Another great day at Averill.