On Saturday I helped out on the apple tasting stall at the local community orchard's apple day - not a new thing for me as I also helped out last year. A pleasant afternoon of people (mostly families with pre-school children) enjoying picking crap apples (the appeal was in part climbing the ladder), ducking for apples, watching the bonfire, singing apple songs and of course eating apples. It really is interesting how different the apple varieties taste and how some people prefer sweet and others sharp flavours.
I do also have a new from the weekend - when I was radically pruning the privet hedge I discovered an old bird nest - yes it was a radical cut back as the nest was formally in the middle of the hedge. From the number of old leaves inside the nest I would say it is more than a year old and I was pleased there were no old eggs inside. I've never come across a complete nest before - amazing to see how much work goes into creating it and weaving the materials together to build up the sides.
Hoping you all have a good week
6 comments:
Sounds like a fun time was had by all at the apple festival. Apples are one of the best things about the Autumn. I do not think I could pick a favourite apple, but right now I am enjoying Gala. Cool find of the bird's nest. We change our clocks back this weekend coming, later than the rest of the world thanks to G.W. Bush (former USofA president).
My favourite apples are Jazz and Pink Lady. I like a crisp not too sweet, not too sharp taste! Sounds like it was a fun event.
What a lovely find in the hedge, isn't nature clever the way it teaches birds to make such intricate nests?
I like any apple I can make into a crumble!
The birds nest looks amazing. It's funny to think I used to be scared of them: when I was about six I stuck my head up a chimney in the house we were moving into and one fell onto my head! Little bit creeped out for a while after that
I like the way these "apple days" are becoming common features around the country, as well as the community spirit of the orchards.
People keep bringing surplus apples in to work at the mo so we are surrounded by them! Not complaining as it prompted a colleague to make apple cake last week and I scored a bag too so will make something out of them to share.
What a lovely surprise in the middle of your hedge ... We had a robin nest in our lean-to greenhouse a few years ago, and its nest was very tightly woven together. I like the photo of the apple stall. (It took me three goes to type that, as the text correction kept changing apple to Apple!).
I so enjoyed the apple tasting at the couple of days I've been to. Looking forward to having room for a couple of apple trees.
Bird nests are quite amazing, we used to clear them out of the bird boxes, and found a couple in hedges as we trimmed. Some are so intricate and tight - others are quite amazingly loose.
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