Apples, Apples, Apples!

Is there anything more 'fall' than an afternoon of apple-picking? This is my favourite time of year, bar none, and having lived in the city for half my life, I appreciate the chance to escape to the country more and more, particularly in late September, early October when the leaves are changing.

So on this chilly first weekend of October, my sister and I bundled up and headed out to an orchard in Waterdown, Ont. Despite its unfortunate name and slightly maniacal looking mascot, Frootogo Orchards offers a great variety of fruit for the picking as well as a cute store packed with homemade preserves and baked goods (the apple turnovers and hot spiced cider make a great post-picking treat), a pumpkin patch, and a big kids' play area. But we were there for the apples, so we plunked two empty baskets in a wagon and headed out.