Apple juice

 Cheers! 

Not alcoholic...but delicious!

A productive and sociable day

 A bright and early start today..fleabay work meant other things to do had been neglected....so first thing all yesterday's washing up and ironing from a few days ago was done and all kept!!

Then it was back to making shiny bits of metal shine properly for a little during our morning neighbourly cuppa...and he came bearing gifts...two fresh eggs from his new hens. 

A quick lunch and two friends dropped by on their way home from a nice bike ride out...just in time for a cuppa! And of course other friends phoned Pirate at the same time!!

Pirate decided to join in the selling, if he isn't using kit, there is no point just having it sitting there. So the afternoon's job was cleaning four chainrings, while he started on mincing apples ready to be pressed for juice.

After supper...which included runner beans, garlic, sweet jalapeno peppers and courgettes from the garden...I cut up the rest of the apples to be pressed and am getting them pressed now.

Hopefully bottling tonight and processing first thing tomorrow.

Apple juice and relaxing

 A good 7am start, and straight after breakfast the apple juicing started. I have four different types of apple, the Hannahston windfalls, probably a tree grown from a thrown apple core. Apples from Auld Byre hedgerow, wild apples we think..but they grew bigger this year..probably because fewer fruit set.  A red apple which looks very much like Kidd's orange red..only a small carrier bagful this year instead of three big bags and more last year and a large carrier bag of apples from a friend.scabby but good for juice.

With breaks to let the juicer cool down..it is about twelve years old!....and pressing the pulp from the juicer..by the end of the day I had a maslin pan full of juice.

That is just under half of the apples done!! I am aiming to make more than last year as we have almost finished last year's pressing, having been using it sparingly over the last month or two.

The juice has now gone through the muslin again and is sitting in a lidded tub to settle out the fine apple pulp that is still suspended in it. Bottling tomorrow evening.

This afternoon we both had reiki treatment followed by a chip supper, eaten as we watched the street lights begin to come on over the water on the Isle of Arran.

Nice and relaxed...and no cooking or washing up!!

Working round from nearly south to northish!

Breathtaking.