Last Pickings!

What a year it's been for apples at Lantallack!

Tommy Knight is the most perfect little apple tree with the smallest but most beautifully formed deep pink fruit. A good eater/juicer for October/November. But who was Tommy Knight? He came from St Agnes but other than that I have no idea:

Final picking to store. Tommy Knight, Blackmoor Pippin, Hockings Green and Brambly Seedling:

And all those that didn't get crushed have been put to bed in the apple store, for eating, cooking and saucing:

Night night from Lantallack Apple Orchard until blossom time next April/May!

Lantallack Gives So Much

Lantallack gives so much. This is the third crop of toms and still more coming. Didn't have time to sow in spring but last year's plants self-seeded themselves and left alone have gone mad!!  Isn't nature a wonderful thing?

Laxton Superb.  And isn't it beautiful.  Just making last but one crushing for apple juice, mixed with Newton Wonder it should be fab!

It's That Time of Year Again!

Lantallack's kitchen is awash with apples. 

But these little yellow fruits are very special as Edward Lear recognised in the Owl and the Pussycat:

   'They dined on mince and slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon; and hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon ...'

We didn't dance this time but managed to make 60 delicious pots of Quince jelly. Yum!

Visitors to Lantallack

                  

Just thought you all might like to see a typical day at Lantallack and with feathered visitors and what not!

Rooks at 5am in the Hay Meadow - what's the saying?? 'See crows, them's rooks.  See a rook - tha's a crow'...in other words, rooks are generally in a 'parliament' and crows on their own!

Getaway from it all at Lantallack

The view across the valley at midday

This chap is cheeky and pinches all the peanuts from outside the kitchen window - we've nicknamed him 'Cyril'

This too is a greedy chappy...but we love him - see how he doesn't just eat the nuts, he has just about demolished the feeder!

Okay, this is just one of the several swarms of bees that we have had to deal with this year...it is amazing to watch them march into a newly prepared hive...

We took about 60 lbs of honey this year...we'll be putting them to bed in a few weeks, making sure that they have enough stores to last them through the winter...watch out for my bee blog!

Can you spy this visitor in the middle of the water lillies?  He's very fond of looking at himself in car mirrors....guess?

Can someone tell me what this is...I think it may be a Hawkmoth, but not sure??  I found it in the tunnel amongst the tomatoes a few weeks ago.

And at the end of the day the sun goes down....

and down.....

and finally sinks behind Padderbury Hill - the iron age hill fort on the opposite side of the valley.

And then we all go to bed....this was a harvest moon in early September

          ....happy days at Lantallack.

Cornish Apple Harvest at Lantallack

Last week we were delighted to welcome pupils from Sir Robert Geffery's School, Landrake, for a day of apple picking, crushing, tasting and drawing.

Despite the wet weather, the children (and adults!) all had smiles on their faces throughout the day.

And it was a first 'school visit' for Andrew Walker too; he loved it!