Marking Time

William Crump (1910), Orleans Reinette (1776), Ribston Pippin (1707)

We picked some of all of them. The apple 'bible' says they are ready for eating in December, November and October respectively and, in all cases, should remain good eating until 2025. We did not feel constrained by the good book and tried them; they are delicious. Only these later-picked apples, with their high levels of acidity, are capable of retaining a good flavour until after Christmas. We have trees that will not be ready for picking for weeks yet, that will keep even longer. One variety that is picked in late October is inedible until after new year and better welk into spring - the book says it should keep until June, but we have never managed that

Tonight was the first fire of the autumn, and I ordered heating oil today. There will be more warm days but, still, these things all feel like the turning of a corner. We maybe have two weeks left of seeing the setting sun from the house - our own personal marker of the year's transition - so I grabbed this picture while I can. Later it turned firery red, to match the hearth, but I liked the presence of the pigeon, which is not going anywhere