everybody knows the secret, everybody knows the score

Here is a photo of Pie and Sovereign grazing in front of one of our apples trees. Our farm is happily blessed with three apple trees in the vicinity of the pastures. Sunday afternoon Maizie and I picked apples from this tree while Pie and Sovey supervised. Of course, we shared with them often, especially since Pie was pawing the ground like he was digging to China until we would throw one in for him. Spoiled puppy! If you enlarge this photo you can see "applesauce" that he slobbered all over his left front shoulder! Below is the old-fashioned apple picker we used for the apples on high branches.
We filled huge buckets with the apples and put them in a refrigerator. When it gets cold we can move them to the garage. My grandmother used to do this each year and she managed to save apples for the horses until February!!! We don't spray our trees, so they don't look all shiny and new, but they don't have stickers or chemicals on them either! Do I hear Joni Mitchell? Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees, Please! Later, Maizie and I made a delicious apple cobbler - yummy! As we were picking, I kept thinking about how lucky we are to have our farm and our trees and our sweet horsey-porsies. The sun was low and it was a soft September light and Maizie was laughing and picking apples with that antique contraption and Pie and Sovey were crunching and munching apples beside us and I wondered if it could ever be better? I was reminded of Michelle, and her lovely blog From The Horse's Back. She always has a "Thankful Thursday" post where she remembers to be grateful for her horses or dogs or some such wonderful pleasure in her life. I am so very grateful for my lot.