Apple juice

 Cheers! 

Not alcoholic...but delicious!

Equinox , walk and apples

 And now the stormy weather rolls in!

Pirate is determined to exercise every day...even a small amount...

Yesterday we had a forage review walk ...and no bag between us..how remiss!  One of our regular apple trees from previous years had looked to have a thin crop....but it was obviously all "up top"...and the high winds have helped them down. They won't keep, but these will go well in the next batch of juice.

We found a tree new to us as well, going a different side of a hedge to usual...and it looks like an eating apple...must keep an eye on that one. 

Our usual cooking apple tree has hardly any fruit this year.. obviously cold wind at the wrong time.

Today we walked out before lunch, after I had my Winter Jags...flu in the right and covid in the left..as rain was forecast by 2pm.

There are bat boxes, but I couldn't get a decent photo 

Owl box

Apples!!!!

I tried to add a six second video of the wind in an aspen tree, but the system or my tablet wouldn't oblige..things have been a little slow today.

Pirate has been having a siesta, and I have just been "pootering" quietly..and the rain rolled in on time at 2pm.."doing what it said on the tin"!!

He hasn't been feeling too good for a couple of days..but I think the root of that is not getting used to how much more fluid he needs to take in at the moment. Hopefully we have got a handle on that.

Time to wash the apples before we start mincing, using an old hand mincer which is permanently clamped on the end of the kitchen bench....too much faff to take off and on..!! And then pressing the juice from the minced apple pulp.

An odd week

 A very odd week with a thing and everything getting in the way of doing something!!

Anyhow, Pirate is on antibiotics, as I thought he would be..he is not happy and impatient..and his appointment to start treatment proper isn't until the 23rd....I joined him in the tooth department and lost a crown...so I start mid December. At least mine doesn't hurt!!.

At last I have started on a small linocut to make this year's cards...I hope it will work...I am thinking on a different way of printing two colours....we will see. Still a bit of cutting to do.

We managed a short walk before lunch to collect another bag of apples. Half have been juiced and the juice has been filtered through a muslin before standing until tomorrow to clear further.

I am hoping that I have enough bottles!!

Juiced

I am waiting for the last of the juice to finish its final filtering...the jelly bag fibres clog up with the fine apple particles. 

The wild apples have produced a nice , quite sharp but pleasant tasting juice.

They will need water bath processing, but it is a satisfying result after lugging bagfuls of apples, juicing initially in the machine, pressing the pulp and filtering at least twice!.

We might even go again, after finishing the apples with a batch of jam, mixed with something from the freezer...I haven't decided which berries yet!

Today's job before bottling was a run to our local(!) Post office, ten miles away to post sales and some essential shopping.  Otherwise I haven't done much.

Pirate had another hour's walk before yet another beautiful sunset..keeping well fit!!
 

And repeat...

 Today's walk had the same aim...apples!!

Two large bags of apples have been mushed and pressed, now the juice is being filtered....

I can make some jam when I have some waxed circles for the jars...four pounds of apples are sitting ready for that!

And we head into lockdown again...because even as an island the drawbridge wasn't lifted, as New Zealand did....because some people have no self respect of respect for others....because big business rules all including politics.

Our one consolation is that with just under 9% of the UK population, Scotland has 5% of infections, even with a better track and test regime, apparently based on the Irish one.

Grasping at straws? Maybe.

My brother contracted covid 19 ....he is alone, but in a bubble with his friend and family...and friend' s wife is a teacher...who only goes home and school and shops on-line 100%..... So don't let anyone tell you schools are safe areas..... Luckily he doesn't seem to have a bad case of Long Covid, but time will tell.

And for some light relief....a tiny house from the local Wee House company....makes me think of some older houses in New Zealand..,

Productive walks

 The day before yesterday we tried a reverse walk of one we had done before...and a little variation along what looked like an unused old track, with banks and hedges grown into trees.

We were aiming for returning up a hedgerow where we had spotted wild apples.

We found some on the old trackway, but thought can't overload ourselves here...and when we got to the original tree, they had gone!!

So yesterday we returned to our second source and picked up a large shopping bag full....and it doesn't look as if any have been taken!!

Four pounds of apples after preparation, two pounds of reduced price cranberries, half a bulb of garlic, mixed spice, cayenne, salt, a quart of vinegar....= a full maslin pan of chutney!!  (And a rather sticky kitchen floor!) Twenty-one jars done...storecupboard and presents sorted!!

Apple juice again!

 I would like to find out what varieties these are...but I think I will settle for sort of Bramley and sort of Kidd's orange red!! Probably both seedling trees.

The eating/drying apples are these..

For  Joanne from Cup on the Bus blog...

Apples in some of my work, sitting on some of your work!  I know that it isn't quite using it as intended, but I see it every day in the living room just by the kitchen door. 

Apples

It was rather wet last night and this morning. Thankfully not as much as further east .

We grabbed our chance as the weather cleared to go and pick two shopping bags full of apples..and left some for others.. it was good to see that others had been foraging too, as none were in the ground!

Then home, not to juice these, but ones from Hannahston mixed with ones that look like a New Zealand bred apple, Kidd's orange Red.

I think that we will be repeating this blend!!

 

Juice!

 The leftover apples from the forage a week or so ago will be canned/bottled or dried...and we aim to get some more of the same!  I am guessing that they could be keepers as well, which means finding some apple trays next time we shop.