NEVER THOUGHT WE’D SAY THIS, but Zorro had the right idea. Dug himself a hole to expose the cool soil, and hunkered beneath the orchard office.

Poor guy is built for cooler climes, high up in Basque country, bred to guard sheep on steep mountain slopes. We don’t have sheep, but we do have apples.

In fact, we already have apples for you to pick! They are our earliest variety, called Yellow Transparent. There are a few such trees in the Vintage Orchard.

According to our fellow apple fanatics in England, Yellow Transparents are crisp, light, and juicy—and ideal for drying, freezing, saucing, and juicing.

Raspberry picking continues apace. We give our Farmer’s Commendation to all you brave pickers who worked the raspberry patch despite the withering heat.

That includes Emily of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, who writes, “The best ones are down underneath, so all the squats I do in the winter come in handy. You have to be brave and stick your hand through the stickers to get the fattest and juiciest.”

And our Facebook friend, Katie, whose brother Mike snapped this cool photo of baby robins nested in the raspberry patch.

Zucchini, cucumbers, and summer squash are all picking, too! There is a small field next to the farm stand—time to pick summer veggies.

Down at the stand we have peppers, eggplant, blueberries, and squash. And Pennsylvania peaches to hold you over til ours are ready—real soon!

NOW ABOUT THE BABIES.

It is that quiet time in July, just before everything comes bursting forth. So we are checking on all the babies’ progress. The little pears are looking great.

Donut peaches are showing just a touch of color.

Nectarines have that sunkissed patina.

And peaches proper are coming into their own.

Now let’s see how the Dwarf Orchard babies are growing.

According to our new map and brochure—coming any day now—these are the “Mixed Pears” in Row 16. Looking good, looking fine.

And the Honeycrisps are right on schedule. We’ll have these available for you at the stand as soon as they are ready to pick.

This tree shoots up like a rocket. We call it the Tower of Bapple.

Next to the Dwarf Orchard, the Mutsu Orchard is looking brilliant. Healthy, robust apples—and no marmorated stink bug! Evil scourge of Mutsu!

Finally let’s see how the baby vegetables are doing. Tomatoes are green and firm and soaking up the sunshine.

Some of our green peppers are expressing their purpleness.

And tiny eggplants are biding their time in the shade.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

We know that our signs sometimes throw you for a loop. But we guarantee that everything on this signpost is true… or was true… or will be true.

And better yet, we have some pretty new signs on the farm—row markers in the Dwarf Orchard. Thanks to Alice, Allie, and Tino.

Incredibly, the numbers on these markers match the numbers on our new map. It isn’t printed yet, so you’ll have to use your “imapination.”

Please note that there IS a row 13. But not in this crop alert—too creepy!

CHIRP.

So, nothing too fancy this week. Some delicious things to pick, and a preview of what’s to come. These little birds are chirping in the rafters of the farm stand, “Gonna be a great year. Gonna be a great year. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.”