Harvest time.

Not really sure where to put this blog, so I'll bung it here, and then link it to the 'outdoor blog'.
It's apple season. And that means lots of work to do in the orchard.
In particular, it's a bit of a race to actually pick the apples before they drop off. When an orchards is as chronically neglected as ours, the trees have grown too big, and a drop to the ground generally proves fatal (or at least bruising) for the apples.

Solution? Well, you need an apple picker. Such as this fine one from Harrod Horticultural (no, they're not paying me for that plug!). Harrod Horticultural is one of those websites I window shop around from time to time, dreaming of the old lottery win scenario, where I can then afford such items as this fine apple picker. "From 29.95" the website tells me. (Does that mean I can pay them more if I really want to?!)
Actually, if I'm honest, if I was the recipient of a windfall of cash, I'd try to avoid spending it on things like this, on the assumption that, if I didn't buy one before, the need can't have been that great... But that's another story!

Anyway, I'm digressing horribly from the point, which is, as stated before, "God gave me the same hands as he gave to the bloke (or woman...) who made that, so I may as well make one myself".

So I had a crack at it. I figured a wire coat hanger would make the 'frame' bit (the red bit in the picture above) as I could bend it in and out to make the 'teeth'. Sure enough, that was a cinch. Then I had a think about an appropriate bag type thing. The prototype had a bubble-wrap catcher. This was then taped to a bamboo cane, to give good reach. Ok, so it doesn't look as pretty as the one on the open market, but it's got a certain charm... No, actually, it hasn't - it's very ugly. But the main thing is, it has a USE! I went straight out to the orchard and gave it a go. There were a couple of slight issues, like the taping had been done fairly haphazardly, which left some gaps for leaves to get trapped in. But other than that, it was a good first try. On my way back into the house, I spotted the pole for the washing line. It's autumn, I thought to myself, and that pole won't be needed for a good long while now... So, having made a successful prototype, I moved onto the first 'production' model.
Again, there was a wire coat hanger involved. This time, however, I buzzed the sewing machine around a bit of scrap cloth I had in the box. I then sewed this onto the coat hanger (this seemed a little more refined than masking tape. Finally, the 'basket' was taped (perhaps some nice garden twine could have been used...) to the washing line pole. And here's the result. I was (arguably over-) excited by the outcome. The lads who come to pick apples for us on a Wednesday referred to it as 'insane'. Now, being one who's 'down with the kids', I interpreted that as a positive thing. But maybe they are just concerned about my mental health...