Hi all, live Huonville, Tasmania about 40klm south of Hobart.
This morning I was woken around 8 by a very loud "bird" outside the bedroom window. Photos a bit dodgy, hard to get a full photo without foreground trees in the way.
Any opinions appreciated, taken from my lounge room window, about 500 metres away.
My opinion is that it is a Kawasaki BK117?
Seriously, it is Cherry Picking season, and this is how they prevent fruit loss, after overnight rain. I was looking down on it, you can see the netting to protect cherries from the birds, and just below the fence line in the foreground is the Huon Highway. As you can see it is hovering at about road level and only a few metres or so above the netting. This went on for about 90 minutes, over the orchard. No wonder Cherries are so expensive these days.
It is heartbreaking when cherries start to split after rain. I think it would be well worth the expense.
Do cherry splits cause real damage or is this one of those cosmetic things our society is prepared to pay huge money for?
Cherry splits do cause real damage, the fruit is not worth the money it costs to pick them. This orchard is a large concern, and the few thousand spent on the chopper prevents huge losses. We are not bothered by the noise, it happens maybe 2 or 3 days a years. Fruit picking employs many in this area.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Once the cherries split they start to rot straight away, the fruit is unusable even for processing.
Thanks Greg new they were no good, but did not know why.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks Greg. Rotten split cherries don't sound too good & probably taste even worse.