Javatte Simms picks apples Thursday at Wallingford’s orchards in Auburn. Crews picked apples in certain areas ahead of Hurricane Lee in what orchard owner Peter Ricker called a “protection pick.” Trees that are susceptible to the expected nor’easter winds were picked at the top first because they would be the most likely to fall in high winds. “Any hurricane between early September and the middle of October is horrible for us,” Ricker said. It has been a challenging year with an abundance of rain, a lack of sun, a hailstorm, a late spring frost and now a hurricane, he said. “There has not been a part of our operation that has not been affected by Mother Nature this year.” Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Garland Wright keeps track of the apples picked Thursday at Wallingford’s orchards in Auburn. Crews picked apples in certain areas ahead of Hurricane Lee in what orchard owner Peter Ricker called a “protection pick.” Trees that are susceptible to the expected nor’easter winds were picked at the top first because they would be the most likely to fall in high winds. “Any hurricane between early September and the middle of October is horrible for us,” Ricker said. It has been a challenging year with an abundance of rain, a lack of sun, a hailstorm, a late spring frost and now a hurricane, he said. “There has not been a part of our operation that has not been affected by Mother Nature this year.” Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Garland Wright, left, and Javatte Simms gather apples Thursday at Wallingford’s orchards in Auburn. Crews picked apples in certain areas ahead of Hurricane Lee in what orchard owner Peter Ricker called a “protection pick.” Trees that are susceptible to the expected nor’easter winds were picked at the top first because they would be the most likely to fall in high winds. The timing of Hurricane Lee is not good, he said. “Any hurricane between early September and the middle of October is horrible for us,” Ricker said. He called it a challenging year with an abundance of rain, a lack of sun, a hailstorm, a late spring frost and now a hurricane. “There has not been a part of our operation that has not been affected by Mother Nature this year.” Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Javatte Simms picks apples Thursday at Wallingford’s orchards in Auburn while Garland Wright hauls a trailer load. Crews picked apples in certain areas ahead of Hurricane Lee in what orchard owner Peter Ricker called a “protection pick.” Trees that are susceptible to the expected nor’easter winds were picked at the top first because they would be the most likely to fall in high winds, he said. “Any hurricane between early September and the middle of October is horrible for us.” He called it a challenging year with an abundance of rain, a lack of sun, a hailstorm, a late spring frost and now a hurricane. “There has not been a part of our operation that has not been affected by Mother Nature this year,” he said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal