Wildling

7 wasn't nearly enough so the other week we planted a further 14 apple trees and an apricot, cherry and Damson to keep them all company. We got them from Thornhayes in East Devon and spent a day marking, digging and pruning. It was a lovely sunny day, like most recently slightly hotter than usual. The dogs helped with the digging, sometimes a little too enthusiastically. Now the rows of twigs march further down the hill. It's gonna be a while till they produce anything. but this is a long game...

Just bottled my first brew: its surprisingly drinkable!  The apples were whatever we could find; windfalls from people's gardens (with permission!) alongside crabs and wildlings from the wood (about 1/3:1/3:1/3).  We unpacked the press and spent a very satisfying day in late October turning the apples to pulp and then juice. Autumn was freakishly mild and the sun was shining. Even now some of the trees still have not dropped their leaves. Theres a great rhythm to to cutting, crushing and pressing the fruit, time flows by as you get lost into the mechanical routine. The pigs down the road where thrilled to help dispose of the left-over mush. The juice was quite dark and clear but pretty acid, knotting my insides when I tried some in place of my usual juice in the morning. It took a while for the fermentation to get going and then, when the air lock went in, it gave up completely. But the shock of my taking the lid off and peering in seemed to get it going and soon it was happily