Autumnal activities
By Guy Burns
Autumn has descended like a gentle mist; enveloping hill and dale with its all-powerful hand of change. The wonderful European autumn hues have vibrantly evolved, adding warmth and colour to the land. Here in Southern Bavaria, it’s time for the final harvests. For farmers it’s maize, this is finely chopped up and stored in large outdoor silage pits to be used as winter feed for cattle, which mostly live in indoor stalls all-year around. It is also the time for gathering walnuts to dry inside and for collecting apples.
Harvesting apples
I’ve been helping with the apple harvest from one ancient tree, well over 150 years old—the biggest I’ve seen in my life. The tree is massive, towering over 20 metres, and because it is so high, we had to shake the branches with long poles to knock down the fruit. Some of the apples are stored for winter use, but 122kg went to the local juicer who, for 42.90€ pressed 65 litres of juice into 13 five litre plastic bags.

