Cider pressing!

Saturday afternoon we went to a friend's house and pressed cider. He has an old cider press and 8 big old apple trees and he invites the relatives and neighbors (we were former neighbors) to help with the work and take some fresh cider home. It is an annual event that we always enjoy.

Stephen, Deb, and Aaron pick the apples out of the water....

... and put them in the hopper. Nathan is turning the crank which smashes them and puts them in a barrel below.

Then once the barrel is full, it is moved to the cranking area and someone turns the screw and presses out the cider. It is delicious and depending on the apple it can be strong or light, tart or sweet.

This man also has our old tractors and is trying to sell them for us. My dh was able to take the kids for a ride on the one that our friend has fixed.

Then, just as we were about done, we noticed the balloons in the sky. Our annual balloon festival was also this weekend.