Still have plums and apples

Apple in the orchard

I was in the orchard last weekend with the kids and my wife. Apples are looking good, as are the plums. I tried both. The plums were delicious and will be picking some next week for a crumble and to give some away to friends and family. The apples still need some time, to mature and the birds have started to enjoying them. They seem to be pecking them and have damaged some but at least they are being enjoyed.It makes the apples look unsightly, as once they have been pecked the insides start to go brown just like a apples that had been cut open and left.

The three pictures show the cherry trees who's leaves have gone brown and the leaves are falling off.   They still have buds and I hope that they will recover for next year.I do have some doubts though. 

The kids had fun chasing butterfly's and looking for grass hoppers. My daughter was the first to find a grass hopper but she was a little scared to catch one.

My Daughter messing about in the orchard

I took pictures of various butterfly's and this was the best one. I have seen lots of moths also in the orchard. I must admit that lots of the apples are misshaped and have dark marks on them. They are 100% organic and I would like to make cider from some of them. The image at the start of the entry was of one of the better ones. I have a number of varieties that are growing not all have done well this year. I would have to admit that fruit wise this year has been a very negative year. I have fruit but not in the quantities of previous years.I can only blame the weather over the year. The dry start and then huge quantities of rain.