Timothy Lehman eats an apple as his sister, brother, and father continue to pick more fruit. The Lehman family harvested their first apples from the orchard in the fall of 2013 after purchasing the property in late 2012. Overgrown with Mulberry trees, weeds, poison ivy, and other vines, the Lehman family’s newly purchased orchard took well into the spring to clear well enough to even prune the trees. Now, after a year of hard work, they were able to nurse the trees back to health to produce apples for this fall’s harvest. When David and Ruth Lehman moved onto the property in January of 2013, they knew they had a large task at hand. Three of their four sons, and one of their four daughters also live with them in an old house on the property that they plan to renovate to its original condition. The Lehman’s plan to follow a simple approach to growing their produce, using environmentally sound methods of growing, utilizing animals, including pigs, bats, and chickens to accomplish what spraying pesticides would. Despite the hardships that come along with restoring the orchard, David still abides by the orchard’s ultimate meaning. “I just believe this is where the Lord wanted us to come.”

Timothy Lehman picks a Jonathan variety apple from a tree in his family's orchard. Lehman Family Orchard has 1400 apple trees planted on approximately 15 acres.

David Lehman walks through one of the overgrown orchards as the sun begins to rise over the trees.

Rich Kettles picks apples while David Lehman prepares to move his tractor down a row of trees at Lehman Family Orchard in September 2013. There are 12 different varieties of apples planted at the orchard, which are sold from the store on the property after being picked and sorted.

James Lehman stands atop a ladder to reach an apple high in a tree. For the fall 2013 harvest, James, along with two of his sisters and two brothers helped with the many steps in getting the fruit from the tree to the store.

Ruth Lehman laughs as she speaks to a friend on the phone outside the sorting shed where she spends a large portion of the day helping customers.

Joel Lehman hands an apple to his sister, Joy Kettles in the sorting shed. The apples are washed and then sorted according to size where they are then graded depending on flaws in the fruit.

Ruth Lehman laughs as Danny Welch unloads apples for making cider at Graber's Greenhouse & Produce in Jamesport, MO. Many of the apples from the fall 2013 harvest were graded for making cider and utility because of skin blemishes due to the orchard being unmaintained for 10 years.

Joy Kettles, Ruth Lehman, and Lee Graber inspect the cider apples brought from Lehman Family Orchard before making the first batch of cider from the orchard. The cider was made using a mixture of Jonathan, Senshu, and Granny Smith apples to achieve a balance between sweet and tart flavors.

Syl Kauffman pours apples into a hopper to be pressed for cider at Graber's Greenhouse & Produce while Joy Kettles and Ruth Lehman watch the process. The Lehmans sent 3 bushels of apples for cider, which yielded 15 gallons of cider.

Whiskey, the family dog, walks around the patio while the cat relaxes on an early morning outside the Lehman's home. The family plans to build a new home on the property, and eventually turn their current one into a store and kitchen.