SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The same family has farmed the land at Miller's Orchard in Scott Township for more than 200 years.
With all that experience, the owners say they can always count on the October weather being consistently unpredictable.
"It's always that throw-around thing in October. Are we going to have snow or 80 degrees?" said co-owner Amber Peregrim.
This season, they're dealing with the latter. Temperatures have been above average for most of the month so far. The Peregrim family has had to adjust by picking apples earlier and much faster than normal.
"It's causing them to really ripen quickly. So, with the apples, we want to get them picked off the trees and get them into cold storage as fast as we can to keep them going. And obviously, the pumpkins are going to go a little faster than we want," she said.
Peregrim told Newswatch 16 customers can keep their pumpkins fresh longer by waiting to carve them and by keeping them off the wet ground.
Any rotted produce at the orchard doesn't go to waste. Pumpkins and apples that have gone bad are fed to the farm's pigs. They love the stuff. They aren't loving the warm weather so much.
But, the Peregrims say the people do. Business has been good so far this fall.
"People are just enjoying the fall scene and the donuts and pies and everything. So, even though it doesn't feel like fall, they're still out enjoying the weather and everything," Peregrim added.