In appley cycles – Tales from the micro orchard 

Exploring Practices of Reciprocal Care with the More-Than-Human World Through Story and Senses

In appley cycles is a blogpost series that emerges with and in the micro orchard in the suburbs of Aarhus, Denmark and explores connections to the lands, rituals, natural world, phenology, reciprocal care and possibilities of re-enchantment through poetic rituals. 

in appley cycles 

when the trees were deep asleep in the early days of the year, hibernating
bare branch souls against grey skies
I came to realise we do live with our apple trees
we might not know their names or ages
yet living with them through the yearly cycles
has evolved into a deep listening, humble gratitude and practices of care

searching for sparks of enchantment in suburbia
where hedge heights matter and design aesthetics rule
taming the web of life and zones for little lifes
we welcome wilding and learn slowness

with spring arriving we whisper our equinox wishes to the trees
they hold them, as we bind strings on their branches
to flow in the ever changing currents of the year
they live close to the fire pit where we sit in circles under the moon
they have listened to countless stories shared around fire
keepers of secrets, witnesses of wishes, dreams and fears

awaiting their blossoming in an overlapping bloom parade
each tree peaking at its own primetime
lighting the garden up in waves of white and rosé
summer follows with their transformation

ripening fruits in the long summer nights
a yearly solstice celebration of nature’s abundance
with human and more than human friends
laying under the trees and listening to their leaf songs
meditating with their swinging dance
as the branches begin to hang lower under the growing fruits

in early autumn the trees in the neighborhood shine red and yellow
the streets are lined with crates, bowls and baskets
overflowing with gifted apples, shared abundance
the harvest, a full day of climbing trees
wrapping and storing them for the dark season
packing bags for friends, and bring one everywhere

exploring all things apples
the cider fermenting over winter
spiced applesauce in jars for the next months
pickled, fermented and myriad of cakes
sharing cross-cultural family recipes
while the darkness returns

as the apples keep us fed through many months
our mouths and bodies filled with their fruit
a longing to give back emerged – how could we sing gratitude, return the care, pass it further?

reading robin wall kimmerer`s the serviceberry
a knowing settled that we do not labour for the orchard
they are our ecosystem service, or gifts perhaps
overflowing us and the birds and insects with sweetness

with an intention of reciprocal care
and inspiration from old tales on wassailing
our own blessing ritual was created
the old english custom, simply said
singing to the trees of apple orchards
wassail = be in good health

villagers used to gather in january to sing
to toast to the health of the trees,
asking for a bountiful harvest in the year ahead
a ritual with a spiced drink based on apple cider
embodying the communal spirit of celebrating nature’s abundance

in mid-january as the light of the day began to fade
clear cold air and mid winter stillness
we went to bless the trees and our garden
to celebrate rebirth of life, that seemed still far then
the morning busy and filled with smells of fresh bread
and fresh apple juice from the basement

with the fire burning high
casting shadows on the trunks of our little orchard
we rattled, drummed and screamed
as to spook the bad spirits away
a piece of homemade bread gifted to the oldest tree
may you be strong and healthy

warmed spiced apple juice, the orchards blood
shared among us, warming our bodies
a glass offered back to the trees’ roots
honoring the continuation and regeneration
of life from one seasonal cycle to the next
wassail

stroking their stems softly
feeling their unique barky patterns
drumming them with care
to softly awaken them from their slumber
whispering waking calls to their roots and branches
then singing to them to welcome their return

in late winter, italian relatives visit to prune the trees
special scissors flown in, carefully packed in the luggage
to help the trees spring out in just a little while
wisdom shared between generations and across borders
from one orchard to another
from castagnole delle lanze to the viby hills of aarhus

for now, dreams of
the cider still fermenting
the orchard’s blossoming, soon, and earlier each year
the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind
their shade on hot summer days
and their fruit gifts after a long summer

as kimmerer says,
gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy
and we will keep learning and exploring them in our living lab
living life in widening appley cycles and circles
micro acts of commoning and mutual care might seem small in the ruins of a burning world,
yet revolutions are built on the rise of countermicros

About the poem

In appley cycles (2025) is a practice and poem written in midwinter as a result of an increasingly close entanglement with the micro orchard in the garden of Vinkelhøj Kollektivet in Aarhus, Denmark – a collectively shared house for around 15 years. The poem invites readers into the seasonal world of appley cycles. Through the turning of the year, the text traces the lifes of apple trees and their human and more-than-human companions – cultivating relationships of reciprocal care, deep noticing, and entangled living. Inspired by thinkers such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Anna Tsing, and the tradition of midwinter wassailing the poem is a result of practices that explore how ritual and attentiveness can transform how we live with the land – not just harvesting their fruits, but tending to its cycles and wholeness (bark, roots, leaves, silence, decay, and abundance and more. How can we move beyond fruit as a product, and toward fruit trees as teachers and companions?

I held a workshop exploring the worlds of appley cycles and its connections to rethinking economics with study circle 5/10 and the Nordic Summer University Session in Finland in July 2025.

Anika Spindelmann
I am a poet, writer, researcher, translator, alchemist and storyweaver from northern Germany, growing roots in Denmark for over a decade.
My work invites into a space of curiosity, intimate encounters and visioning with the land and beings through writings based on experimental text and visual formats, carrier-bag-like foraging and assembling, multispecies perspectives and observations. I feel drawn to encounter and converse with the inner and outer landscapes in the current state of climate collapse, connecting themes of solastalgia, (un)seasonality, rituals, wildness, and the possibilities for planetary intimacies, resistance and eco-feminist futures.

Once caught in the corporate web of capitalist marketing and communication, stories have always been close to me, the weaving of threads and connecting of dots – and the power of narratives remains a core theme braided into my writings. A deeply changing trip to the Sonoran Desert in 2023 set me off on a writing journey and also reconnecting me with my family name in new ways – both the arachnoid and weaving connotations. Let me explain: In German Spindelmann translates to “spindle-man” – the human of the spindle. A spindle holds the thread from which stories are spun. To spin is to transform raw fiber into thread, that can be woven into creation, into fabric, into story and connection. It is the very act of making meaning from chaos. In Swedish spindel means spider – Spider(wo/hu)man. The spider weaves messages within her silken web. As a metaphor spinning represents how I see stories and poetry: transforming raw experience into narrative. Through weaving I want to spin the threads that connect people, events, and possibilities into patterns of meaning … so writing in the wood wide web feels homecomingly.