After the mini heat wave it has turned cool and crisp and clear. How welcome are some sunny early mornings after the many days of gloomy, dull, humid ones.

As soon as the hint of autumn can’t be denied, I become obsessive about preparations for the season that follows. I get extra things in the freezer; extra stamps and notepads and books for winter’s shut-in days. Perhaps my brain obsession is apples. I have more recipes for using this fruit – and more leaflets and folders that tell the story of many apples.

A handy leaflet from the Connecticut Apple Marketing Board, a couple years ago, was an offering of the Department of Agriculture. I am amazed each time I glance through this pamphlet, to find listed 61 kinds of apples grown in Connecticut. And even so, one of my favorites from the farm where we lived, Astrakhan, is not on the list! Some I had never heard of but many of the all-time favorites are there; Baldwin and Cortland and Ida Red and Delicious, both red and golden, are some. My grandmother was always trying to find good “Northern Spy” apples and also Granny Smith – the green ones many cooks prefer for baking.

Apples have no artificial coloring and not many calories. They are full of good vitamins – almost no sodium and less than a gram of fat per apple. All counties in our state have apple orchards where one may go sometime to pick their own. At Pearmins Orchard in Shelton, they have old fashioned varieties. Some of the orchards also produce apple cider, and at least one is a winery.

A booklet from New York State (where did I get it?) lists varieties and how best to use them – sauce, pies, salads, baked, or frozen. It has several pages of colored pictures of ones that are popular today. They list Crispin, a green apple, which the Connecticut list also calls Matsu. My favorite Ida Red was developed in Idaho, a cross between Jonathan and Wagenet, first raised in 1791. The New York State booklet lists dietary fiber as another worthy nutritional fact. Their several recipes for apple muffins, apple-cranberry sauce, and apple roast, a baked dish with sweet potatoes, onions, and a splash of vinegar.

A baked apple recipe from the booklet uses maple syrup and cider to pour in and around the apples. I use the syrup and a generous sprinkle of nutmeg, but no cinnamon.

Of course my collection includes several booklets from Vermont. One of my best days in Vermont was when we picked applies in Shoreham.

In Vermont, most apple orchards have a “harvest” barn, brimming with the other fall produce they raise – pumpkins and many kinds of winter squash, decorative corn and gourds, maple products, honey, and home made jellies and jams. Cider jelly seems to be a favorite. The Vermont orchards grow over 100 kinds of apples and produce over a million bushels a year. Most of the recipes they offer are accompanied by sharp cheddar or smoked cheddar cheese. My uncles used to chant “apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.”

Cut up apples as if making a pie filling, cook them gently with some nutmeg and a little sugar, till soft, and while warm, put a couple of spoonfuls over vanilla ice cream. This goes well on Belgian waffles, with a dollop of whipped cream!

I have memories of Russet apples that are not attractive, but are sweet and delicious. And the Sheeprose apples we picked up under a tree at the corner of Westville and Myrtle Avenues in Danbury as we walked by going and coming from school.

Our ancestors probably were doing more for their health through their very heavy use of apples than they knew. Dried, cooked, or raw, they had apples almost year around.

I can get passionate over an apple and it gets much worse this time of year as harvest days approach. I don’t think I ever had an apple I didn’t like!

The days are sliding toward October and the time is now to move in your most prized houseplants. I “rest” the Christmas cactus plants through late September and early October – no water and protect from frost but let them be a little cool. When they come inside and are watered and left in a sunny spot, they will bud up and the early varieties will bloom.

The closing lines of poetry last week were easily recognized from “If” by Rudyard Kipling.

Who said “Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him”?