2023

A Cider a Day

Crabapples

This time of year is busy: it’s apple season, and that means lots of picking, juicing, and fermenting apples.

Each fall, I’ve looked for and picked apples wherever I can find them. Family trees, random trees in the park, and this year, I met a neighbor who had a half dozen McIntosh trees. So we went one early Saturday morning and picked apples.

The McIntosh apples, a half bucket of sweet yellow apples from my father-in-law’s yard, and a collection of bright red crabapples from our own backyard helped create about eight gallons of unfiltered apple juice.

From there, I split up those eight gallons into a few batches of hard cider.

The bright red juice is from the crabapples, which helps create a cider with a kick – a little something extra. When you ferment all the sugar out of juice during cider making, you have to have a little personality, and the crabs – with their acid and bitter tannins – helped add complexity.

From here, I stick a bit of yeast into a fermenter, sit the juice in a dark, cool spot, and let is sit for a few months. In the juice, the yeast turn all the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

And I had a bit of juice left over to enjoy with the kids – some “family-friendly” sweet cider, like what you buy at the orchard.

I officially started making hard cider in the fall of 2019, but this really became my pandemic project. I practiced, made hard cider out of store-bought juice, added other fruits and flavors to it. Now, I have it down pretty pat, and have even started making mead (fermented honey) and cyser (fermented apple juice mixed with honey).

There are lots of guides out there on how to make cider, but my favorites come from the folks at City Steading Brews – here’s a good starter recipe. Just know you’ll have to invest in some equipment and supplies: fermenting jugs, funnels, sanitizer, yeast.

But the juice? That’s the fun part. You can do like I do: pick and juice your own, using a standard home juicer. Or you can pick up a simple gallon of cider from your local orchard (just make sure it has no preservatives in it – ascorbic acid is okay), bring it home, and have it start bubbling into hard cider in no time.

Much like photography, the process is just as fun as the final results – except with cider, you get to drink it.

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Summer at Sandhill

Lately, I’ve had the itch to get out and shoot more. Sometimes, hobbies can come and go in waves – often depending on what else is going on in life. Right now feels like a crest, where I want go make more photos.

Saturday evening at Sandhill Crane Vineyards was a good chance to shoot. It was a lovely summer evening, with off and on clouds, and the sun was popping in and out of the clouds. As soon as it popped out during sunset, I took a walk around their mini festival to see what I could see.

And something different: I strapped a EF 28mm f/1.8 to my Canon EOS M, using the EF-to-M adapter, for a ~42mm field of view. 40mm tends to be my comfort zone. Even though the camera felt a little front-heavy, the FOV was perfect. 

So was the light, and the setting, and the music and drinks all around. 

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Love and Respect

This weekend, I lost a brother and a best friend. Rest in Peace, John Neff.

John seemed to be everyone’s big brother, really. He took care of people, was considerate, and tried to help whenever he could. He led our fraternity during difficult times. He provided invaluable counsel and wisdom. We always joked he was an old man, even in his early 20s – maybe “old soul” is more appropriate.

But for me, Neff really was my big brother. In our fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, he helped induct me. He taught me so much and got me out of more than one scrape. One time he even had to drive me to the hospital after a diabetic episode. Many other times, he rescued me from my own bad decisions. And with big life decisions, during and after college, he was there to lend an ear and some wisdom. He was the brother I never had.

Neff was a rabble-rouser, a lover of education, a trivia nut, and a music appreciator. A fellow Mac and photography enthusiast, it was Neff who sparked my joy of “fancy cameras.” We had so many adventures together taking photos – whether in freezing cold downtown Chicago, boiling hot downtown Toledo, or in and around the Cleveland area.

Neff was the best man at my wedding. He was there a few days before Jaime and I got married, and sure enough, we took our cameras and explored a bit of Jackson County together. I was proud to have him by my side, acknowledging my special day, and joking around with the rest of the fraternity family we rarely saw. I was proud to be in his and Laura’s wedding too – long before I was ready for something as mature as marriage.

A few of us were lucky enough to take in one more ball game in Cleveland with Neff last summer. I’m so thankful we did. One last night at John and Laura’s house, one last big breakfast at a local diner together. And while we only saw each other every year or so, Neff and I talked constantly: fun, inappropriate text conversations, or a call to catch up. He was kind enough to check in, and each time we talked it was like we had never been apart.

It feels like he’s still there, just waiting to reply, “Oh, Dave” with that chuckle of his. An in-joke here, an Adrian College memory there. Now suddenly, he’s gone.

With Laura and his girls, Neff had a beautiful family. I feel so much for them, and I can’t imagine how much it hurts to lose a husband and a father. I love the entire Neff family. I loved John in the way that two people who share a bond as strong as right itself do.

It’s too soon, brother. There were still so many more memories to make.

Love and respect, Neff. Always and forever.

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Step Outside

“Go touch grass” is such a meme these days. And for good reason – after almost three years of pandemic isolation, we could all use some fresh air. We probably spend too much time online, especially on social media, and it can affect our wellbeing.

This year, I’m trying my best to get outside more. During the pandemic, I made taking a walk at lunchtime a new habit to help my mental and physical health. But “outside” can also mean away from the internet, or away from your everyday. Now is always the best time to see or do something new.

And while you’re at it, grab your camera and capture what you experience.

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