Apple Picking

It was my Mother in Law's birthday today.  Before we met up for a meal out at a local hostelry, we spent the morning apple picking in the garden.

It is now quite challenging as the one apple tree is as high as the ridge of the house.  For the last few weeks the odd apple has fallen from the tree so we decided to pick the best of them before more damage was caused.  This handy tool was really useful, especially as it is connected to a pole that can reach up to 4 metres.  Even so the effort to collect one apple often triggered another one to give up its hold on the branch.

Before breakfast I'd gone out for an early walk in the local countryside.  It's that time of year when you start to see the deer start to gather for the rut, though there was no sign of activity as yet.  I came across the calf and hind from earlier in the summer, as well as a juvenile group of first and second year males.  I often come across these in groups of four for some reason.