The nights are getting cooler. Fall is just around the corner. The ripening apples are good enough to eat now. A week or two from now, they will be perfect. This year the trees are loaded. With all the sunshine we’ve had this summer, their flavor is intense. Once you pick an apple off a tree, fresh to eat, picking them out of a bin in a store seems so drab.

• How to tell when your apples are ripe ~ Oregon State University Extension Service
• When are apples ripe? ~ University of Wisconsin Extension
• Harvesting Apples ~ Dave’s Garden