Stayed on in Nelson last weekend with my friend Glen Davenport at Doone Cottage in Motueka.
I love to wander this area. The autumn scenery was spectacular, especially the golden rows of grapevines and of course the seasonal bounty of apples and pears for which this region is known.
I returned home with pears and apples (of course)--Winter Nellie pears and Glockenapfel "Bell Apples." I got into a chat with a lady at Richards Orchards in Mapua, one of my usual pitstops, about various heritage apple varieties. She had recently done a tasting of various apples for a local school, and turned out the kids liked the Glockenapfels the best since they were so different from what they were used to eating. After telling her we'd planted a "Monty's Surprise" that had yet to bear fruit, she went off and returned with two huge Monty's apples for me to take home, telling me not to lose heart, that it had taken them several years to get theirs to fruit too! These apples are seriously huge...Glen and I had one baked for dessert that night, while the other one I've brought back home to bake for John.
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