“CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN PEAR.” That’s what one of our best Amandas calls her latest still life:

Hidden pear, indeed. If you didn’t pick Bartletts when we first sounded the horn, you’ve missed pear picking season. But you can get them at the stand.

The apple display is filling up beautifully. A favorite time of year for us. The orchards yield a pomological rainbow. Starting now you can get Honeycrisp apples at the stand.

Please pick now — McIntosh apples! They are dropping from the trees in the Vintage Orchard. Save them! Find the trees with ORANGE ribbons. The Mac is your classical, flexible apple: great for eating fresh AND making sauce AND pressing cider. Our man in Pocklington, Yorkshire, England, says, “McIntosh is without doubt one of the great North American apple varieties, typified by attractive crimson colours and a crunchy bite. The flavor is simple and direct, generally sweet but with refreshing acidity, and usually a hint of wine — often referred to as vinous.”

New this week — pick Autumn Crisp apples! You’ll find 20 trees in the Dwarf Orchard where the sign says cryptically, “NYS 674.” Here is how Autumn Crisp is described in Apples of Uncommon Character: “The apple is a dead ringer for Honeycrisp. Its cells shatter when you bite into it, like an apple-flavored Cheeto, spraying juice everywhere and leaving you with a mouthful of apple water. Wicked fun to eat…”

New this week — Pick Gala apples! You’ll find them at the west end of Row 15 in the Dwarf Orchard. Our homedog in the United Kingdom describes Gala thus: “Gala is a cross between Kidd’s Orange Red and Golden Delicious — a highly promising start. Bearing in mind that Kidd’s Orange Red is the offspring of Cox’s Orange Pippin and Red Delicious, Gala is effectively a union of three of the world’s most important and distinctive apple varieties.” Well said, royal subject.

Drink now — Orchard Ambrosia! We are pressing fresh cider several times a week and it gets better every time as the apple varieties ripen. Delicious cold or hot, it is unpasteurized with no sugar added and nothing but fruit.

You can still pick 5 kinds of tomatoes! Beefsteaks are plentiful and you can pick those for $1/pound during the weekdays. Roma, San Marzano, cherry, and heirloom (not included in sale) take a little more poking around, but you can still find them for your sauces, snacks, and recipes.

Big Beefsteak Box Sale continues! Get pecks of fresh-picked Beefsteaks for only $15 each, which is about $1/pound. We’ve done the picking for you. We’ll have these til we don’t. Time to load up, seriously. Tomato season will end abruptly without much warning.

You can still pick eggplant, peppers, and herbs! Let’s make the most of the season by harvesting the remaining heaps of hot peppers, plenty of eggplant, and herbs you can cut yourself. For inspiration, see this eggplant parm stack from Featured Farmketeer @weeeese, starring fresh tomatoes and eggplant from The ‘Creek. (The farm is on Instagram.)

Behold the DONUT HOLE. Yes, we just cut a hole in the barn for donuts. It is a rectangular donut hole. Very soon you will waltz up to this magic door and get fresh hot apple cider donuts. Kids will be able to peek inside at the donut machine, apple washing machine, and cider press. STAY TUNED!

Ping Pong! The newest craze at the playground! Outdoor table tennis with a view of orchards and distant hills. Two tables are already built. You will find paddles and balls in the wooden box next to the new… badminton court! Yaa haa! It’s grass like Wimbledon. The playground just got so much funner, especially for adults who don’t want to play TWUCKS in the sandbox or climb on the big TWACTOR.

It is still summer. But it is harvest season. Weekends on the farm are going to be livelier than a 2-tailed puppy. Sneak over during weekdays for quiet time in the orchard and the weekday u-pick tomato sale. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.