Farm Life - celebrating harvests

by Roger Hill

Yummy... apple pie, blackberry and apple crumble, plum pudding. Just when you think that summer is over, September provides us with nature’s bountiful harvest from our orchard and the hedgerows.

To celebrate, many harvest festival services take place. Slightly scaled down from years gone by when the church was overflowing with sheaves of corn, vegetables and preserves. Sports amongst the cow pats on the farmer’s field, followed by a hearty supper in the village hall raising money with an auction of produce.

Another day out in September is the local ploughing match and although I no longer compete, I still like to check out the straightest furrow. My favourite sight though is the heavy horses. A majestic tribute to days gone by when man and beast worked so hard together.

Back to our small orchard. Apples, pears, plums, crabapples and damsons provide exciting ingredients for preserves and pies to fill the larder and freezer. Out in the barn we as a family work together to extract and bottle some juice from the fruits. Oh and did I mention cider? If my ramblings for next month are a little blurred, then you know I’ve done a few tastings! ‘Til next time, Roger #TuppertheTractor (website: quoit-at-cross.co.uk)

Apples ripe for picking