a lesson in Portuguese phonetics
The easiest way to fake the New England Portuguese accent is to talk like you have two marbles in your mouth and spell apple”
-Manny Sousa
I don’t know much about plants but i think apple trees are cool. Growing an apple tree from seed is a genetic lottery and it’s fun to grow your own variety. My apple trees came from my grandfathers small orchard. A few saplings grew out of the compost at that property and i was lucky enough to get two out of the three to thrive in my yard.
2026 was the first year that the trees produced a reasonable harvest. A branch was so successful that a branch broke from the weight of the fruit.
This weekend i was able to take my harvest to my parents house and combine apple with trees my grandfather planted. The process is simple but labor intensive. The apples were broken down and pressed using a simple setup and lots of physical exertion.
I took home a gallon of cider that I’m letting naturally ferment. My father took some of the pressed apples and made apple sauce. A few choice apples were saved for jelly. It was nice to produce something and I’m looking forward to making more ciders.