Cider press

I am keeper of the old cider press my mom's uncle owned. It's a large one. I love making apple juice in the fall. Trouble is, we've had a hard time finding (free) apples the last couple of years. Hopefully the trees will blossom this year. Anyone else make juice?

No , but it sounds like a wonderful thing to be able to do.

Do you have any of your own trees?

I had a semi-dwarf yellow delicious that was just starting to produce, and we had straight line winds. Tore it out and blew it into the neighbors yard. A couple of years ago I planted a two- in- one red/yellow delicious. I think one graft died. An early May freeze took the blossoms, so I still don't know what I have. I planted famouse, or snow apple and the feeeze took those blossoms. I've relied on the kindness of people in town letting me pick their apples. Last year, no-one had apples. Crossing my fingers this year!

Sounds like bad luck with the weather all the way around. When I moved here to this farm there were two old apple trees. Last year both of them had large limb break off. Well, one tree broke down completely. The one tree has shoots coming up from the old trunk.. Anyway, I know how frustrating it can be.. But, hopefully you won't give up.

I'm hoping to plant several apple trees in the next few years. My family always made apple butter outside over an open fire..

How neat! Do you have a black kettle? My Dad got the one that was in his family. I wish I had room for a lot of apple trees. I grew up next to the Catholic church. They grew apples to sell. We were not supposed to be in the churchyard, but we were. I climbed and sampled every tree Mom couldn't see from the house. I remember the huge Wolf River that were too sour to eat. My favorite were green Grimes. We had a standard tree. We also had Jonadels, Fireside, Snow apple,and pears. Then the field flooded and Dad lost all the trees. Have you ever made pear butter? Very good!

My brother inherited the copper lined kettle. He will take good care of it. I have lots of good memories.

I have made pear butter and plan on doing lots more of it in the future.

Wow, copper lined. I don't think I've ever seen one.

Too bad you aren't closer. I've got old apple trees all over - but none are really good for eating because they get so bruised. The trees are too big to reach the fruit, so they just dump all over the ground. It's really messy. Two of them are going to have to get a major trim this year, because we don't want to put up with the apples all over our cars another year. Plus, the goushy (spelling?), rotting apples can be slippery and dangerous if one is prone to being uncoordinated, as I am. One fell in my truck before I could unload a new window and broke one of the panes! Now if the tree itself would fall on my car... Course, the bear likes the apples, but he has to stay with the ones outside the yard now. Still plenty of them.

I miss real cider. It's not cider here in CA. It's apple juice - a whole different experience.

The bear?

Please explain about the bear.

I wish I lived closer. If Billy didn't gettem for cider , I would be making apple sauce and apple butter. Besides all the livestock that would eat them.

What type of apple trees are they?

hmmm...somehow I lost this thread...but here it is now.
We have a bear that lives in our neighborhood. There are reports of 400 bear living in the 12 square miles of this reservation. While the house was vacant, for about two years, it slept in the "yard."

I don't know what kind of apples they are. Some red, some yellow-green. The first year here I enthusiastically picked up apples and made all sorts of stuff, but that was while we were still renting and waiting to close on the place. I had more time before homeownership! Now that we own it, I've stayed so busy remodeling and landscaping and doing necessary work, that taking the time to use the damaged apples hasn't been feasible. I rescue dogs, have one cat, no livestock, but I was recently told the apples will be good for my blueberries, so that's where some will go.

It's too bad to waste, but even staying on the ground (would that be laying or lieing, Billyporter?...) they make the worms and other bugs happy.

Eeeks! A real bear! And I thought skunks, raccoons and possums were bad enough!
Laying. Yes, never harvest the entire thing. Leave some for others, man and bug. Can't remember the bible quote. Brain is numb with so many threads.

yes...I'm getting cross-threaded...lol

Maybe mines from lack of food. It's almost 5:30 and I usually nibble around 4:00. Even the cats were late.

Eat, silly!

Me cutting apples for the cider press. A very good year! No-one sprayed their trees, yet only an occasional worm. I cut the apple in half just to check.

My Dad, who let me have the press. He's 77 and still loves to make juice.

The press and the apples.

The apple crushers. My Dad made the aluminum basket from scraps. It's heavy!

Dad squeezing the pulp.