Sunday before last, I had the great pleasure of visiting my cousin
Rick's farm.
He managed to reaquire this family farm from whoever it had been sold
to, and who had let it fall into disuse.

Rick isn't a full time farmer (not yet, anyway) but he's doing all he
can to make maximum use of the property.

Rick and Sheila have been blessed with two boys. Derrick, age ten, is
a bright and kind guy. Alan is energetic and healthy and pretty
severly autistic.

Which matters to this post, because this is just how generous they
were to us that weekend:

Four jack-o-lantern sized pumpkins. One dozen fresh eggs. As many
apples and pears as I wanted (I took maybe five pounds total, which
didn't make a dent in what he had, but that's only because I didn't
want to waste any.)

And two gallons of fresh pressed cider and half a gallon of fresh
pressed pear juice (perry?)

See, he has maybe seventy or eight fruit trees. He was devasted at
the state of them when he bought the farm. He pruned everything back
to see what happened, but he was sure his favorite varieties were
gone.

Boy was he wrong. He got back probably twenty or thirty bushels of
fruit for his trouble.

So I was in the area with my wife and kids, and we visited. Rick and
I took turns cranking the grinder or washing the fruit. The fresh
nectar was stunning. The cider was sweet and fragrent. The pear
juice was subtly wonderfully pear. I love pears.

And what pears! Huge, tender Bosc full of the flavor that denies
report. I can't wait to see how the Anjou taste. I keep forgetting I
have them.

Rick and Sheila are part of The Society of Friends church (known once
also as the Quakers) and don't drink. I don't blame them - alcohol
hasn't been good to our extended family. But I drink in moderation.
I bought an inexpensive airlock, some yeast, and some iodophor
sterilizer solution. I hardened a gallon of cider. It was ready for
Halloween.

The stuff is sneaky. It probably doesn't have more than 5% alcohol,
but it drinks so smoothly and lightly that I drank twice as much as I
should. I like a beer or glass of wine every now and again, but when
I have too much I regret it. This stuff is so good that I wanted
more, even as I lay in bed being wrestled down by slumber. Very very
good stuff.

So, thanks Rick. Thanks for your generosity and for sharing your good
fortune with me.

Greg Zywicki
ps - thanks also to the Kuehnen Brewing company in Warren, MI for
brewing advice.