Apple Harvesting

Today I got out the 12-ft ladder, took my grabber and the colander and climbed up to get as many apples out of the tree as I could. I picked about 60 apples but there are still close to that many left on the tree. The thing is, they are way up high and I can't get to them (a sure sign that the tree should have been pruned last autumn and desperately needs it this year).

Once in the house I sorted them and put the bruised ones in the kitchen to cook with. Then I washed and dried the rest and packed them in a single layer in 3 boxes. I made a nest with torn newspaper and then wrapped each apple in newspaper to protect it as best I could. I got these instructions from Bob Flowerdew's book, The Gourmet Gardner. The apple boxes are now out in the garage where they can stay in a cool and dark place while we're away to the States for 10 days. I hope this works as there is no way I could use up all the apples before Thursday when we leave to country. (By the way, I have learned that putting wax on apples is a way of preserving them a little longer and not just a cosmetic "trick" the supermarkets use to make the apples appear more enticing.)

The top photo above is of three of the apples which I thought looked particularly nice with their leaves still attached. I put them in the centre of our mantel and just love the way they remind me of three little girls posing in ballet costumes. They make a lovely centrepiece--for a wee while anyway.

I took a bagful of apples over to Helen and Gordon Rae yesterday and stayed for a cuppa and a chat. On Thursday, Helen and I took the bus to Perth for a bit of shopping, lunch, and a movie. We saw Atonement, an adaptation of a book by Ian McEwan that we both had read and enjoyed. It was pretty good for a book adaptation film.

On Friday evening Don and I went back to Perth for dinner and a concert at Perth Concert Hall. They are putting on a Schubert series which they hope to make into an annual Schubert festival. The concert was excellent and made all the more enjoyable by the fact that the final piece was the Trout Quintet, one of Don's favourites.

Don has been doing a lot of coursework lately and, in a way, it's good that he isn't away playing golf so that he can take care of his work during the day. He's making do by watching golf on the telly. Right now he's taking a break from work by watching Ernie Els (South Africa) and Angel Cabrera (Argentina) in the 36-hole final match at Wentworth. It's sort of soothing for me to sit and read the Sunday paper and listen to Peter Allis murmuring the commentary.