I‘m finding my neighbours are very generous. They have these enormous fruit trees that produce way more than they need so are very happy to see it shipped off and enjoyed by others. Today I took a trip down to the end of the road to visit Tina and Shane for a coffee and a pear harvest. Two absolutely enormous pear trees that are many years old are filled with pears at this time of year. The birds, possums, cows and horses all love to eat this delicious ripe abundance but there’s plenty to go around and the basketful that I took barely made a difference to what is hanging in the tree. Now to get busy preserving!
But before I can get my cider made I need to renovate an old cider press that I’d bought off gumtree. It’s a rusty old thing that is still very functional but I’m not keen on using it as is, because of all the rust. A coat or two of food grade paint will hopefully solve that problem and I can get most of this fruit juiced for cider making with the rest being sliced up and dehydrated for a sweet treat in the cooler months.
Later in the afternoon I headed down to my lower swale to chop the two remaining tagasaste trees and mulched an almond and cherry tree. I always forget to get the before shot of the tagasaste which are amazingly fast growing trees. Here I’ve got a picture of a tree that’s half pruned to give a sense of the size that I’m cutting down. Laying the pruned foliage and branches around the base of my productive trees helps create a more fungal dominated soil which is what’s needed to feed these wonderful giving trees. Two more done. Bit by bit I’ll get the job finished sometime!
It’s hard to tell what’s really going on in all of these green photos. But with all the green around you I find it’s a lovely place to spend time. I might be working but there’s also a relaxed feeling to be down amongst it all 😊