The sky turned a brilliant blue today … better than anything Crayola could imagine. And the temperatures were downright warm — along the lines of what we expect from early October, but certainly not November. It was just one of those gloriously beautiful Sundays.

A day like today should be spent outdoors, enjoying the weather and the land. So, the kids and I packed into the car and headed to Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel, Conn., for some apple picking. Honestly, I didn’t know that you could pick apples in November, but you can.

When we arrived, picking was in a different part of the orchard than I’ve picked in before. No matter, we paid for our bag and got to picking. There were only a handful of people there, so we had the place virtually to ourselves. I left go of Will and Paige’s hands and let them just walk around … free. They still stayed pretty closeby, but it was nice not to worry. Soon, Will and Paige both got down to business eating apples while I snapped braeburns, fuijis and granny smith’s off the branches.

I can’t say that picking conditions were perfect — this late in the season, there are many apples to discard do to inedible imperfections. But what was lost in efficiency was made up for in relaxation. I can’t say enough about the joys of picking in such peaceful solitude. I found similar enjoyment when we went blueberry picking at a new place this summer.

If you are in the area, you still have time to pick too. According to Blue Jay, picking will continue until mid-November, so there are at least a few more days to get out there and enjoy this requisite fall pastime … Gosh, I wish next weekend would be as nice as this one was.