its easy to pamper the novel aspects of the holding, prioritise the almonds over the apples, the new pigs over the sheep – a combination of human nature and limited time and brain space
and so the devon orchard of mostly apples and plums has been largely ignored since planting, but i was still surprised to see fairly established apples on the devonshire quarrenden, an old local variety that fruits early in the year
the small, almost raspberry coloured fruits look completely delicious, and for three days i went back to look at them and examine for when i could twist them gently from the tree…three days and each time i missed the devastation immediately above the fruit
this little creature had removed all green life between the fruit and the growing tip
the caterpillar of the eyed hawkmoth, it hangs upside down, attached by clasping pairs of ‘feet’, nibbling the leaves down in monotonous strips
clearly theyd enjoyed their free pass on the apples, gathering in clusters of half a dozen or so, looking like the early season rolled leaves
beautiful, as is the hawkmoth itself, a neighbour and i prised them off their stalk and bucketed them off to the riverside willows – their other luncheon of choice
