Apple Picking at Radke's Orchards

On a misty Sunday morning this past weekend, my son and I set out in our car to pick apples in Indiana. Our destination, Radke's Orchards, allows dogs on their property, so we brought Rusty, our golden retriever, along with us.

The funny thing is Rusty hates getting into the car so I have to lift him up. He's a large dog so I do it by manuevering him close to the door, putting his front paws on the seat, and then lifting with all my might the rest of him into the car. Ooof! In movies, dogs seem to just jump into cars all on their own and enjoy sticking their heads out the windows, but not our Rusty. Doesn't he look angelic in this photo? You'd never guess he's a reluctant rider.


The fog lifted well before we arrived and we had a perfect fall day for apple picking. I had chosen to travel country roads rather than highways to get there which made for a relaxing drive.

The apple orchard sold half bushel plastic bags for fifty cents each so I ambitiously bought two. We started our apple picking with Galas. The orchard provided us with a map showing where the various varieties were planted. Trees at the ends of the rows were marked with tags denoting the variety name and harvest date.


Rusty was a big hit with all the little children out apple picking with their families. He was very well behaved and enjoyed his opportunity to check out new territory and smells. My son and I had to laugh when he sniffed around the outside of the porta potty and relieved himself right in front of it.


Radke's Orchards has picnic tables located throughout the orchard which makes a great place to eat lunch or just rest a bit. We looked over the amount of apples we'd already picked and decided maybe one bag would suit us just fine. After all it was quite a lot to haul around along with holding the dog's leash, his water bowl, a water bottle, my purse, my camera...you get the idea.


While we were resting here in the shade, Rusty ate some apples and apple peels that were underneath the picnic table. [Unfortunately they didn't agree with him and he got carsick on the ride home. Fortunately we were almost home and I had lined the backseat with a towel.] Ahhh, life with a dog.

We concluded our apple picking with selecting Golden Delicious and Jonagold apples. Safely returned home, that night we made homemade apple crisp. Yum yum! It's easy and quick to make so I've provided the recipe below for those of you who haven't tried it.


APPLE CRISP RECIPE given to me by my friend Marilyn

Preheat oven to 350° F. Thinly slice 6 cups of apples. Mix apples with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Mix well and place into an 8" x 8" baking dish. Make apple crisp topping by melting 1/2 stick of butter and adding to it 1 cup uncooked Quaker Oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Spread topping over the apples. Bake 30-35 minutes.

Note: I really like the topping and will double the topping measurements.


Hope you're enjoying apple season where you live. It's one of the highlights of my fall.

Dodge the Highlighters

The other day I was in the car with my 17 year old son and I asked him if he had any good school stories to share. The week before he had told me of his heroics when a snake was discovered in the school lunchroom. The story went that his teacher had unsuccessfully attempted to capture it using two Styrofoam cups. When Charlie and two of his buddies heard about the situation, they raced from the gymnasium to get to the snake. Charlie got there first by jumping over a counter. He picked the snake up behind its head and waving it menacingly at his classmates took it outdoors.

It was only a harmless garter snake, but still - what a story. I could picture the whole episode in my head. With that in mind, Charlie began telling me about finding a knife that day. Not a butcher knife or switchblade, simply a table knife. But naturally, he didn't tell me that part right away, just like he didn't mention that the snake was a garter until after he got the effect of seeing my face react to the word snake.

Anyways, he told me this occurred during Dodge the Highlighters. Hmmm. When he said that, my mind got busy imagining a scene of unsupervised teenagers tossing neon colored pens at each other and ducking behind tables and chairs. In disbelief, I said, "Is that what you were supposed to be doing?" He said "Yes, that was our M period today." When I asked where was the teacher during Dodge the Highlighters, he said, "No, Mom. I said Adopt a Highway!" Oops. He had been outdoors participating in a service project to pick up trash along the roadway instead of having an out of control study hall session. We got a good laugh out of that hearing mistake and it gave me a story of my own to share.

Update on Grad School Progress

Speaking in public on November 2.

After more than a full year in grad school, I thought I would share how it's been going. In less than a month's time, I will have completed my 5th class  towards my master's degree in Communication Studies. The classes taken so far are:

• Introduction to Graduate Communication
• Research Methods
• Project Management
• Principles of Effective Fundraising
• Group Communication and Leadership

This represents 12 hours so I am one-third of the way towards the 36 required hours.

I have enjoyed learning many new things. With the practice I am getting, I have improved my public speaking skills. I now find it enjoyable to present in front of groups. I like to watch their facial expressions and check their comprehension and involvement with what I am saying. I think my hearing loss helps me tune in to the audience's nonverbal responses. It may not be apparent here, but my academic writing skills are improving as well. I'm really glad I took on this challenge although I must admit it has been difficult and not easy.

Deaf World Library and Museum

Another exciting project in the works is the creation of a digital collection of deaf studies. To make this dream a reality, Utah Valley University professor and Director of American Sign Language & Deaf Studies, Bryan Eldredge received a $50,000 grant from the Washington D.C. based Institute of Museum and Library Services.

To learn more, read the official press release.