MIDDLEFIELD, Conn — Nice weather has given people an opportunity to experience fall in Connecticut, even though the temperatures are more like summer. However, it's been a wet stretch.
At Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, Executive Vice President John Lyman said September made it into the record books.
"I keep records, monthly rain totals. For us, this September was the wettest it's been in 40 years," Lyman said. "We still have to harvest our apples and pumpkins. Both actually have made it through okay. The rain has really helped the size of the fruit. Now we just need dry weather to pick it."
The problem? Dry weather has been tough to come by - especially on weekends when business is usually at its best.
Fortunately, some were able to take advantage of the mid-week sunshine.
Jim and Linda Ward made the trip from Milford to Middlefield, calling it a "perfect" day.
From an operations standpoint, Lyman told us this year is in the "Top 10" for difficulty.
"There was a lot of disease pressure, trying to protect against disease in any of the crops," Lyman said.
Running all aspects of the business has been challenging: Some of the fields haven't dried out. Tractors have gotten stuck.
One positive? The corn has grown tall.
"We have our corn maze, it's one of the tallest we've had. You feel like you're really in a tunnel," Lyman said.
All of this coming off what was a very dry year last year.
"The big difference between a dry year and a wet year is in a wet year you wish for a dry year. In a dry year, you wish for a wet year. If there could be some balance, that would be great," Lyman told us.
He said there are plenty of pumpkins, apples and other crops for sale. The biggest battle right now is the timing of the rain, and fall weekends.
Ryan Breton is a meteorologist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at rbreton@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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