The very blustery day

While the weather outside is icky (we're in a flash flood watch and high wind advisory...thanks Ike!), there isn't much I can do outside without feeling a whole lot like a drowned rat. I'm waiting for it to quit so I can go see how many trees we've lost. I heard a few crash down early this morning.

Although it's still warm and humid, it is starting to feel like fall. The leaves are changing, the horses are losing their summer coats and slowly putting on heavier ones, the mums are blooming.

And...it's apple pickin' season!
Ever notice how many MORE apples you end up bringing home when you go out to the orchard to pick them yourself? I'd never, ever buy this many apples at the grocery store!
What to do with nearly 20 pounds of apples?

Make apple crisp, of course.

So much easier than pie. You don't have to deal with that pesky crust. I get flour everywhere...pie crust is not a pretty thing for me. Toss some oatmeal, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, flour and melted butter into a bowl, mix and your done.

Throw a heap of peeled, sliced apples into a buttered pie plate.

Pile the brown sugar, butter, oatmeal mix on top. Be generous!

Bake until the apples are bubbly and crust is golden. Enjoy the wonderful cinnamony-apple smell that fills your house. Marvel at how much apples shrink in the oven. Grab a spoon and eat it warm straight out of the pie plate before anyone else in the house realizes it's done.
Just kidding.

Finally, mix all the peelings in with your horses' dinner to let them know how much you love 'em.