Yes, I know, it broke my heart as well. I went down to the garden on Friday afternoon to check on the apples & the strawberries. The strawberries are going great guns & were untouched but on inspection one tree had not a single fruit left on it & the other looked as though it had less than it previously might.
The perpetrators left one fruit carved with a smiley face on the second tree as a mark of their misconduct.
The trees are dwarved so we haven't ruled out hobbits, though we're fairly certain that the Very Hungry Caterpillar is not implicated since there were no signs of fruit with holes through them. Clearly there's no point in doctors looking for them as the thieves took enough apples to keep the doctor away for many, many days. We're checking into whether this includes PhDs, but so far my thus beknighted husband has not had any issue with apples nor apple eaters (as far as we're aware).
If it were possums that took the crop them they must have been dextrous & brought their own bag(s). Normally possums will take a bite or three out of dropped apples but we've not previously seen such thorough possums.
I have to admit, I know it's only apples, but I was quite annoyed at this one. I've been looking after these trees all year, feeding them worm castings & other compost & watering them over the dry summer. They put out beautifully last Autumn & I was looking forward to eating our very own apples again. We were left with a few, hubby is in the kitchen lazily peeling, chopping & cooking the smaller ones while I do all the hard work of blogging mindlessly about them. The large ones are sweet enough for eating, so I hope the pilferers enjoy them.
Keep an eye out & if you see any apples that look like these, the brothers of the nicked apples, let me know immediately, or dial 111 & tell them it's an apple emergency.
