Russet Apple Harvest (by sarah)
Last Sunday me and dad decided to start the russet apple harvest as Barbara had been asking for help with it and had already set up the dam in the stream to try and catch all the errant apples that fall due to the wind ect... For those that don't know the apple tree is on the other side of the stream just behind where the green house is (the green house is attatched to the building we live in (when its not flooded that is!).
The hard frosts have already reached our little valley so it is time for lots of things to be harvested at the moment!
We found a ladder and gingerlly made our way across to the otherside of the stream, we decided to jump it rather than use the ladder as a bridge as we noticed it had a rather large crack in it that would not take the strain but would be fine if the ladder were used as an actuall ladder. The back here was quiet slippery and muddy as Albert (Barbaras garderner) has been clearing it of all the scrubby grass in order to put more ornimental things there. But we made it over with no ill effects but than I realised that we had nothing to put the fruit in so had to recross the stream to get some bags!
When I returned Barbara has joined in the fun and was in the middle of donning wellies and get the 'cherry picker' now the only cherry pickers I've ever seen are those little crain things with a basket for humans that window cleaners sometimes use, I've also seen council employees use them to change light bulbs in displays in town centres and that type of thing - what Barbara came back with was something akin to what I would call a 'pruner' it was like a pair of shears on the end of a long poll with wires running down the poll so that you can move something your end and make the shears at the other end work!
Equiped with this dad scaled the ladder with much protest as a) he is scared of hieghts but was too proud to let me do it and b) there happens to be a couple of roses trained up the tree which did their best to scratch him to pieces!
Once in position I handed the cherry picker to him which he wedge by a joint in the trees branches and begain shaking. Nothing happened, no apples fell - all except one apple - which thanks to dads and mine combine bad luck feilds proceeded to hit him on the head! I'm afraid I couldn't stop laughing when I realised that the only apple to actually have fallen off the tree had managed to hit him right on the nogging!
Anyway with a bit of direction from Barbara he soon had the apples tumbling into the stream where they where neatly cuaght in Barbaras apple trap (an old wrought iron fire grate/basket thing with some chicken wire) where she was waiting eagily to extract them with a rake. I mean while I was creeping around the bank trying to retrieve all those that hadn't made it into the stream - I was trying to do this mid strokes so as not to be showered by apples. However dad decided that he needed to extract revenge for my laughter and shook knowing I was under the tree and then laughed like a drain when an apple ricochette off my back side into the water - Barbara then commented that at least that wouldnt hurt as much as one hitting you on the head :/
Anyway we got a good big basket full and the trees still laddened with fruit!
Sun 28th Oct 2007 12:05 pm 
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