The Apple of His Eye...

Sunday's roadtrip was south to Prairie du Chien along the Mississippi River for the Orchard Festival at Shihata Apple Orchard.  The leaf color wasn't quite at its peak but there were some beautiful pockets of color en route on the bluffs. 

Shihata's Orchard has a very interesting story. You see Egyptian born, Moe Shihata, came to Wisconsin in the '50s to study soil agriculture at Madison. He convinced his family that he could not return home to go through with a pre arranged marriage because he had 'needs' and was a man. (It so happens he had fallen in love with a beautiful tall, thin blonde from La Crosse.) He married this apple of his eye La Crossian and took her to Egypt with their child but then later sent both his wife and their first child back to Wisconsin alone...


 He eventually followed, their family grew. In '68 they purchased some land and planted some apple trees as a side hobby which became a 'hobby out of control' obviously because today Shihata Orchard is in its third generation with 18 varieties of apples, a retail and wholesale business, a pastry barn with all types of baked goods and a retail store with related food and samplings along with many knick knacks...  

AND a weekend to celebrate their good fortune and the harvest. 

Photo ops...

I don't know about Saturday but Sunday the orchard was filled with families partaking in the apple festivities.

Tractor rides...

Families taking photos with apples/ pumpkins or on  a tractor ride through the orchard amidst the rows of apple trees and beautiful colorful surrounding hills...




or


 the kids could visit the  
   

petting zoo with Popcorn the donkey, Sparks the llama, Keno and Lola, her friends, a goat and a lot of bunnies... 

There was also a giant apple sling shot...

Can you spot the apple mid flight?

   

a special playground with a tractor tire jungle gym, slide,  corn kernel box, face painting and a new addition- the spider web trampoline with numerous seasonal photo ops... 

Just a whole lot of family fun to be had at the Orchard Festival at the Shihata Orchard. 



In fact, some folks just got plum tuckered out like these two.

You know fresh air can do that to a person...



         Happy Fall Y'all!





Link :Shihata Orchard





* According to Wikipedia the idiom of "apple of my eye" has  biblical origins:The original Hebrew for this idiom, in all but Zechariah 2:8, was 'iyshown 'ayin (אישון עין), and can be literally translated as "Little Man of the Eye." This is a reference to the tiny reflection of yourself that you can see in other people's pupils. Other KJV translations of the word 'iyshown include dark and obscure, as a reference to the darkness of the pupil.