I've been making applesauce. Our old apple tree has been loaded with apples - all small and imperfect because we don't spray or do anything else for the old tree - but they make really good sauce.
I don't know exactly why, but the tree has been dropping apples for about a week and the ground is covered. I could not walk under the tree without stepping on little apples today. I was able to find plenty that were good, though, and have made two batches of sauce so far. It always seems like a great idea to freeze it for winter use, but pretty often we forget to get it out to use. Somehow, it is never quite as appealing as when it's fresh and warm, just out of the food mill. We didn't have any last year. The old tree is back to producing every other year now. Fred trimmed out some branches a few years ago and after that it produced a good crop every year, but last year there wasn't a single apple on it. This year the limbs are sagging under the weight.
     I'm enjoying the cooler weather, but the house felt cold and damp tonight, so we turned up the thermostat and let it heat up a bit. I don't think there was a single night this summer that it was too hot to sleep. There is always a cool sort of draft that comes down the hill in back of our house as soon as the sun goes down and with the windows open in the bedrooms, it's always nice and cool. 
     I was surprised we got only a little over half an inch of rain last night (.61 in.). It seemed to me it rained quit a bit, but apparently not. I measured 1.43 in. on Thursday, and only a trace yesterday. I think this rain has helped, but the ground is still pretty dry.
     Tomorrow is the final Sunfish Race here for the season - 1 o'clock. There is a celebration and awards party at the Smith cottage on North Shore Road afterwards. I think the weather is going to be exceptionally good tomorrow. I don't know about the wind, but it could be just about a perfect sailing day.
     Things are winding down here at the pond. A week from today is the final Joe's Pond Association meeting of the season. The End-Of-Summer Cocktail Party is Saturday evening. Call Bill and Bo Keach at 684-3673 or Carmen Gagne at 498-4225 for details. 
     The summer has flown by and it has been a good one - lots of hot days and more to come, we hope. But now it's fair time - Danville Fair is past, Caledonia County Fair is this week, Lancaster Fair is August 30 - September 3, and kids will be going back to school, some next week (!) Seems like only yesterday we were celebrating Memorial Day . . . !
     I've been looking for a photo app to replace Microsoft Digital Image Pro10 that I used to use with great success. I've tried half a dozen, but noting measures up to that. The problem is that my computer died back in the spring and we had it repaired and updated and now that app is no longer compatible with my computer. Microsoft does not make an updated app for Digital Image Pro10, but the have all sorts of complicated programs that are advertised to be better, but simply are not. That app was super easy and I used it to clean up old photos all the time. I could erase the age marks and tears, water spots, etc. and make those old relics look almost like new. I hate when stuff like this happens - it's planned obsolescence, but I say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."