Westsylvania Cider

10/07/2026

Special thanks to Tom Yasnowski Farm for these awesome Dabinett apples. Looking forward to checking out this orchard in the future.

Tom’s orchard is on the western edge of Mercer County, about a half hour from Timberwolf Orchard and I’m extremely excited to see how this c***r turns out with proper c***r apples!

10/06/2026

Fall at Timberwolf Orchard.

09/19/2026

A wild crab apple that I found growing in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Originally grafted from a Scion in 2022, one of probably millions found across North America. Now growing in my yard.

I liked that it had all the proper elements for a great c***r apple-high sugar, decent acidity and tannins.

But most importantly it produced apples even in this year of a terrible freeze and has disease resistance to all of the various stuff that afflicts trees in Western Pa.

As our climate changes, we (the collective we) should be finding and propagating apples that are worth saving because they are good AND have the genetics to succeed in a changing environment.

09/07/2026

One of the main reasons I don’t spray my trees-broadcasting poisons that kill pest also kill other beneficial insects, birds, and people as well.

While the giant Cecropia moth caterpillars do eat apple leaves, among other species like the awful Red-humped caterpillars-broadcasting BT or even worse, would kill these guys.

I have several birds species that use my trees to nest, eat a fair amount of bugs, and keep other bad insects down.

08/27/2026

Crappy year but at least this tree is loaded. Yarlington Mill-a late blooming English c***r apple.

08/20/2026

After a good bit of traveling this July we’re back at it in the orchards. While not many apples (there are some surprises as you’ll see) one is a tree I grafted from a wildling growing in Butler County, Pa.

I don’t have a name for this one yet, the blossoms survived 22F in April and was grafted/planted in 2023.

I’ll have to go back and look at my tasting notes but I propagated them for a reason.

07/04/2026

C***r was there at the very start of the founding of the US.

Drink apples!

07/03/2026

A great piece on a c***ry that influenced me and my method of harvesting, making, and thinking about apples.

https://charleskirkwood1.substack.com/p/aaron-burr-c***ry?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demoo4dk5on8&fbclid=IwY2xjawS0xmJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFQZzY4bVN2UXhXVk40aGtLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHny3kHr0sHVozMGNBzz8n8zPIldfcS_aohhAn1ydjaqUJrK29eZJPCbCgbMt_aem_ANV6r7BrIGs8UlKaNhVEHg

The Orchard After the Orchard: Aaron Burr C***ry and the Problem of American C***r Continuity

06/05/2026

Hooray for tiny miracles. I have some apples (not many but some). The later varieties that flowered out after the freeze (Dabinett and Yarlington Mill) have some fruit, as does a couple others (anything related to Golden Delicious oddly).

But it’s a beautiful time of the year working our orchards and eyes ont the future harvests.

05/07/2026

Welp..the verdict is in and we lost nearly 100% of the early and mid-season apples from April 20th‘s deep freeze. It’s been raining dead blossoms that should be baby apples.

Our late season varieties-English c***r apples like Dabinett and Yarlington Mill flowered later, yet we had another freeze this past weekend. Ugh!

Interestingly some of the varieties hit by that freeze are sending out a couple very late flowers-an adaptation that they must have evolved for events like this.

Even if it’s only a half dozen apples-the trees want to at least attempt to get seeds out to reproduce.