Growing up, we would always end up at Boyds Orchard during apple-picking season. Fall was ushered in with apple-cider-cinnamon donuts, fresh apple turnovers, climbing the hay-bale tower, and cartons of apples to take home and make into apple pie. When I went to college, I continued this fall tradition with my roommate, Kayla, and later, Ryan. And I can confirm that in at least two out three of these photos, I am boiling hot because it wasn’t cold in Kentucky yet and I insisted on wearing the most fall outfit I owned.

Needless to say, I miss being able to go to Boyds for apple picking (and generally miss Kentucky and all my people, but that’s besides the point). So Kayla (different Kayla, still my roommate) and I decided to try out Welsh Heritage Farms, an orchard not too far from Mankato, to celebrate fall (the season Minnesota often forgets exists). Despite a temperature plunge into the 30’s and 40’s last week, we were graced with beautiful mid-60’s weather for our apple-picking foray.

Welsh Heritage Farms is both an orchard and pie shop, and perhaps what I was most excited to try was the apple cider donuts (made fresh in their bakery). Kayla and I opted for the pick-your-own-apples route and ventured out behind the main building to the orchard. While this was much smaller than what I was used to at Boyds (which usually requires a map to navigate), Welsh Heritage Farms had a pretty good variety of apples to choose from, and we still managed to get lost trying to find our way back to a specific variety. Since it’s pretty late in the season (we’ve already had our first snow, after all), the air was filled with that sickly sweet scent of rotten apples. The overcast day intensified the fall mood, bringing out the burnt reds and oranges in the surrounding landscape.

We didn’t try a pie (though they smelled wonderful), but we did snag a bag of the donuts. They were deep fried, coated in cinnamon sugar, and melt-in-your-mouth while warm. All in all, the perfect cure for the mid-semester blues.

Afterwards, we decided to visit Lake Crystal, a couple of minutes down the road, and snack on our freshly procured apples while taking in the fall foliage and lake views. Lake Crystal (not to be confused with the town of Crystal Lake) was named by John C. Frémont and J. N. Nicollet, who explored the country around it in 1838, because of the unusual brilliancy and crystal purity of its waters. It turned out to be a lovely spot to sit by the water and enjoy the sight of pelicans soaring overhead, taking in the strange beauty of nature’s hibernation.

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