JR invited me to harvest two of her apple trees, one, a large cultivar Golden Delicious next to the house, the other a scrappy volunteer in the riparian area along Surface Creek, probably a Macintosh, but not quite as tart as my memory of Macs from childhood. I cleared out the Golden Delicious the evening before a hard freeze ended the season, side-stepping the deer and bear apple-poop under the tree. The Macs fortunately waited a couple days even after the hard freeze with snow.
Apple butter and applesauce were the final outcomes. Using very little sugar in both cases, but also, molasses in the apple butter: so far getting a good response from consumers! After the apricot labor, this was easier and although time-consuming, it is great to have a jar of applesauce at hand in an instant! And still, a month-and-a-half later, have some of the Macs left for a couple batches of apple crisp for the holidays.