Fall is my favorite because it is fleeting. A late September heatwave and an early frost might leave you with just 3-4 weekends of primetime cool and crispy fall. When October rolls around and that chill rocks my nostrils first thing in the morning, I am filled with gratitude that I am here. And take it from me, someone who spent over 10 years in Los Angeles where a chilly fall October day is 75 degrees, these seasons matter more than just a hard apple cider and hayrides. The changing weather sets a cadence to the year, it reminds you we’re marching onward. It’s a brisk indicator you’ve made it once more around the sun. 

So what am I to do with my time this October? Head out to apple country, of course. Many people just think of 495 as just another highway, but me? I call it the Great Apple Belt. Once you get out in that Acton, Concord, Harvard, Stow area, you can throw a rock in any direction and hit a picturesque apple orchard. 

The rock I threw landed at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow. 

I was lucky enough to spend the morning in the donut room with sisters Chelcie and Alisha Martin. They are part of Honey Pot Hill’s fourth generation. Their family has run the orchard for an astounding 100 years.

And boy oh boy, what an operation they have. They take donuts VERY seriously. 

We’ve got a couple good weeks of fall left. And whether you can make it out to Honey Pot Hill, or one of our other beautiful orchards, I implore you to do so. These farms are an important part of the New England ecosystem. We put up with a lot of BS January through April. Between now and Thanksgiving, that’s the good stuff. So button up that flannel, make your spiked apple cider, and find yourself some apples.