Rochester in the fall

While I am happy to be going home and being back with everyone I love, I'm a bit sad about missing my favorite time of year in Rochester. I have just, in the past week, noticed the first few trees are starting to change color as the fall approaches. It's always the maple trees that start first. The few trees that are changing colors look so silly right now, because they will have one branch that is brilliantly orange and red, yet the rest of the tree is still green. It's as if the tree just isn't quite willing to give up the last bit of summer.

I also saw my first "locally grown" apples at Wegman's (the grocery store) last week. Upstate NY grows tons of apples, second only to Washington. Fall here to me signals the start of the blissful drink that is Kelly's Apple Cider. It is unpasturized goodness, just one step away from heaven. I have heard that there was a law recently passed in NY that all juice must be pasturized before it is consumed, but I also heard that you might be able to get away with it still if it is being purchased on site (i.e. not in a graocery store). Who knows, but by the time I get back here in January, apple season will be long over, and the tress will all be bare and brown. I'm sure it will be quite the shock coming back without the beautiful transition of fall. Ah well, there is always next year. And the bright side is I won't be around to have to do the raking :)