We started asking questions, and found that this is a reasonably new method of producing the most apples per acre. As the older full-size apple trees quit producing, they are replaced by these new dwarf trees. They must be tied to heavy wires that help to support the load of apples that such a little trunk and branches cannot hold on their own. We counted from 30-50 apples on each of the dwarf trees.
The little trees are planted in rows that have just enough room for a small tractor or mower to drive between. Because they are shorter, it is much easier to pick the fruit than from a regular apple tree. More importantly, they produce more apples per acre. We saw a few regular-size apple tree orchards, but it looks like they are becoming a thing of the past in this area.
It definitely is harvest time near Wolcott. Large wooden crates are stacked at the edge of fields, and we watched as 18-wheelers loaded with apples were heading down the highway.
We found that Wade County, New York, has 22,000 acres of apples, and they seem to be everywhere we looked. That's probably why we could buy this 8 quart box for only $3 at the fruit stand across the road from our campground.
We were headed towards Sodus Point this day, which sets right on the largest bay on Lake Ontario. As Mark stands beside the bay at Sodus Point, it seems a good time to mention another difference we have noticed in our recent travels. We're not sure if they ran out of names for towns or what, but they seem to re-use them over and over. There is the village of Sodus, not to be confused with the towns of Sodus Center or South Sodus or Sodus Point. We see similarly-named towns and villages all over New York!
Mark is standing behind the lighthouse at Sodus Point in the picture above, while Denisa and her Mother are standing beside the lighthouse. We took a guided tour of the lighthouse museum here, and learned much about this area and lighthouse-keeping.
Our tour included a trip up the winding staircase to the top of the lighthouse. We got to see its fresnel lens that makes a relatively small lightbulb bright enough to be seen 12 miles out to sea.
Also from the top of the lighthouse, we could get a bird's-eye view of Sodus Bay. Out the window on the left we can barely see the white pier light at the end of the rock jetty reaching out into Lake Ontario. We have always called these smaller structures lighthouses. But as a result of our tour we learned the fundamental difference between a lighthouse and a pier light. It must have housing quarters for the keeper to be called a lightHOUSE. Those little beamers at the end of jetties are just pier lights.
Because Denisa's Mother is with us, we got one of those rare pictures of the two of us together. It was a beautiful blue sky day! Also notice that we are wearing shorts and short sleeves this day. The weather forecast is calling for some cooler temperatures that will be causing a wardrobe change this week.
As we drove beside the bay we saw this strange yellow paddle boat with a long nose scooping up something green. Mark has become the master of U-turns as he whipped the car around to take another look. The bright yellow paddle boat was just unloading its stringy load of sea weed when we got back to the boat dock.
We watched as the load of sea weed went up the conveyor belt on the ramp and emptied into a large truck. We have also become masters at asking questions, so Mark struck up a conversation with the truck driver. He found that they harvest sea weed out of this bay once a year. It becomes a nuisance as it wraps around the propellers of boats trying to get in or out of the bay. This warmer-than-usual summer has produced a bumper crop of sea weed. These loads are spread over crop land in the area since it is a great source of nitrogen.
Our lighthouse tour guide told us about a neat little market about three miles from Sodus Point. We enjoyed some tasty sandwiches and salads, and marveled at the number of large mums that filled the parking lot in front of the market. Some mums are annuals here because of their cold winters, and we have seen more of them for sale this fall than ever before.
We have seen some evidence of that brutal New York winter weather. There are snowmobile crossing signs up and down the highways. That's not something you'll ever see in Oklahoma.
We then made a trip to the Farmer's Market in Sodus Center (after we couldn't find it in the similarly-named town of Sodus) to buy more fresh vegetables and baked goods. We haven't visited a grocery store in a long time because we can usually get everything we need at local markets.
Our evening plans included a trip to Fair Haven State Park. Denisa had read an article that listed the ten best spots to watch the sunset in the world. Since we couldn't get to Greece, South Africa, or Brazil tonight, we opted for the second one on the list--Fair Haven, New York. We're pretty sure the town of Fair Haven took some liberties with the official top ten list, but it got us out to the beach on a lovely evening.
It took an uneven walk on a broken jetty to get to the best viewing place in the park.
We waited patiently as the sun turned golden as it sunk lower in the sky.
We'll be leaving tomorrow for a new camp site in eastern New York. But we highly recommend a September stay in Wayne County, New York, during apple harvest!
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