IT’S JUST US DUDES here today. The fellers and the hombres. One of the gals drove south; another flew west. And the rest? Where are les femmes de la ferme?

Don’t know, but we’ll have to make do. Find meaning in our work. Git ‘er done.

Tommy is picking Macs. High up in the trees, forty pounds of apples slung low on his hip, he freezes — Do I hear them? Is that the lilt of a lady’s lyric? No, only a bird.

Tino gets fuzzy-headed, too, when the lasses leave. But after a brief panic, he leads us lads in song. “Soooomewherrre over the rainbow,” gravelly and earnest.

We start to find our strength, and we even see flashes of exuberance. A kick of the heels, a few manure jokes, a chew of chaw. It’s an orchardmen’s stitch-n-bitch, and it will sustain us for now. Anyway, you tuned in to find out what’s fresh, so here are the top three things you need to know.

THE TOP 3 THINGS TO KNOW

PIGS-N-APPLES PARTY — Saturday, October 6, 2012. Local food by The Piggery, everybody’s favorite. All are welcome. Bring friends, families, young and old. There is a Party Page and a Facebook Event, too.

UPICK & PREPICKED APPLES — There are pick-your-own apples in the Vintage Orchard (McIntosh) and Dwarf Orchard (Autumn Crisp). The stand is packed with new varieties from the Dwarf Orchard, including Honeycrisps. We can’t give out free generic Lipitor like the supermarket, but we can sell our homegrown Honeycrisps for only $2.25 a pound, compared to $2.99 at the big chains. “An apple a day…”

FRESH CIDER — We can’t stop making cider just because the ladies are AWOL. If we can’t drink in the joy of their presence, or the presence of their joy, we’ll drink Orchard Ambrosia instead. Works in a pinch.

TWO MORE THINGS TO KNOW

“Eternal youth is impossible,” warned Kafka, as is eternal summer in the Finger Lakes. But you can stretch it out a bit by chomping the glorious fall raspberry crop. Pick your own while they last.

Here’s how to do smoked peppers in your own backyard. The sign says, “tastes amazing,” and everything on the internet is true, so give it a whirl.

SEND US YOUR FOOD PHOTOS

A few customers sent us photos of beautiful pies and stuff they made with our fruits and vegetables. Send us your photos and we’ll share them all in a crop alert! Email them to indiancreekit@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek!