Foraging from Surrey...

Am staying with the parents down in sunny (hah!) Surrey at the moment and couldn't resist the urge to take a bag or two along on the dog walk this afternoon. Well what do you know? Despitethe more temperate nature of the Thames Valley, there were still rosehips *and* blackberries to be had. Even weirder a number of the rosehips were this strange purple-black colour. According to this Danish website these colour hips are just as edible as the scarlet sort and belong to the Burnet or Scotch rose. Well knock me down with a feather - I was having some of those, so I collected all that were still good and made a mental note to try again next year. I wonder what I should amke from my black rose hips?

In other news - one of the other regular dog walkers saw me foraging and pointed out some sloes I'd missed and a hazel/cob nut tree that I was too late for, but might consider checking out next year. She had a good point, perhaps the later season of the Midlands might produce some cob nuts or chestnuts when I go back? She also offered me a glut of crab apples she has at the moment - excellent! My jelly is so delicious I'd love to make some more - what a success. Apparently she has some Medlars in her garden, too. Not quite ripe, yet, but mine when they are - marvellous. I've ehard of these but am not quite sure what to do with them. I have a suspicious they're a quince like fruit, so maybe a jelly or cheese from them?

Finally, as I was leaving the rec, I spotted a few small, orange coloured fruit that looked edible and Medlar-Lady helped me identify them as small, but tasty plums. If I pop back tomorrow when I have a bit more time then I could gather up a few of those and make a delicious plum jam - nothing could be nicer!

Hurrah!

Derive

The derive was first mooted by the loopy bunch of eejits know as the Situationists. In situationist texts, a Dérive is an attempt at analysis of the totality of everyday life, through the passive movement through space. It is translated as drift.[according to wikipedia]. Basically you go for a wander wherever the will takes you, with no set path or direction.

Well, I went for one of these today. Originally I just intended to take a walk around the block. We've only been living here about a month and I wanted to explore a little and see if a green space we drove past the other day really was a park. Anyhow, I walked that way and it turned out to be a churchyard, but at the end of the church yard was a recreation ground (or rec) with a fenced off border. Ho hum, thought I, wonder if there are any of nature's fruits closer to hand than I originally thought. So saying I set off around the perimeter to find, within moments, a clump of ripe and juicy blackberries, not yet grown old and withered. These were shortly followed by a cluster of branches adorned with rosehips, then a tree burdened with what looked like a sort of crab apple. I picked up a windfall and went on a little further only to be confronted with what may be elderberries and a number of knarly old trees absolutely laden with Victoria plums. Oh my. I'm going back tomorrow with boxes and a rucksack!

On my way round the rec I spied an alley way leading out of it**. Thinking it might be a shortcut back to my original location I set off down it, only to find myself in an area I didn;t recognise at all. Nothing daunted, considering it was bright, balmy daylight and a harmless looking bit of suburbia, I decided to follow it through and headed in the rough direction I needed to go. I took a half hour detour, but eventually ended up in a bit I recognised, then found myself walking past the local community centre.

Now, I had seen this advertised in the supermarket as being a charity in need of support, so I stuck my head in to see what was what. Well, they have a knitting club, keep fit classes, dance classes and apparently they offer adult education courses run through the local library. I got directions to the library and walked home with a smile on my face and a skip in my step. This is a route to integrating into the community (something I'm eager to do) and I've found a library (one of my favourite places in the world) plus I could further my CV and employability through a course or two - all is right with the world!



** This alley went past the back garden of someone who had at least three trees absolutely lifting in damsons. If there was any way I could pick them from the alleyway then I would, but I wouldn;t be able to reach. It's such a waste knowing there's all that fruit and that it's unlikely anyone will pick it :-(

Work Clothes

I don't know if I'm the only one who does this, but I find that most days I get the majority of my household chores done whilst in my nightclothes. There's something satisfying about it, perhaps because then, by the time you wash, dress and start your 'real' day, you've already done the chores and can get on with the rest of the day afresh. I don't know, but I found myself doing it again today.

I woke up nice and early, pootled downstairs to let the cats out (even though the little sods prefer the indoor loo anyway) then decided to do something about the berries I harvested yesterday. I rinsed off the blackberries, patted them dry and put them in an old ice cream tub to freeze them.

Then I had a go at processing the haw berries. I took a tip from a website I found and rolled handfuls of the berries, still attached to their stalks and leaves, between the palms of my hands. Well - it worked a treat, the berries just dropped off into the container and I was left with a handful of shredded leaves - far easier than picking over them individually.

Gave those a rinse, put them in an old ice cream tub and put them to join their compatriots in the freezer. Next it was the rosehips. Removed stalks, woody tufts, rinse under the tap, ice cream tub, freezer. Job done. An hour gone. Eek. Still, they're all ready to go for when I have the time or other ingredients to make something with them.

Now I better go and get on with my course exercises so I can get my qualification (hopefully) and get a lovely lovely job and some even more lovely lovely money :-)

Hedgerow Harvesting

Well today wasn't a great day. I went to the bank and discovered that the private savings account I had stored away for a rainy day didn't have anything like the money in it that I expected. In fact it had none in whatsoever. Clerical cock-up or forgetful me, I don;t know yet, but bursting into tears in the middle of a bank is always embarrassing.

For once, though, I managed to curtail my drama queen tendencies and, instead of driving home to lie down on the floor and sob piteously (as I really wanted to), I took a detour home via my favourite place to walk and forage - the campus of my old Uni. Unfortunately the height of the blackberry season was over, guess I should have made more than one trip at the beginning of September when the bushes were laden with luscious purple fruit. Note to self for future: blackberries are best in the Midlands around about 5th September.

I had a bit of a pick and got a few handfuls, but they're not as plentiful or perfect as the ones I picked a fortnight ago. I took a look at the rosehips, but I don't think they're quite ripe yet. Apparently you want them with a slight wrinkle to their flesh and most of the ones on the bushes were still taut-skinned and firm. I'll have to check back in another week. I'm determined not to waste all those hips this year, not like the blackberries. I also picked a few haws off the hawthorn bushes. they looked dark red and glorious, but I'm not sure if they're edible or not. If not I'll just have to chuck them in the garden and let the birdies gobble them up. [PHOTO: Haws at the top, LEFT: possibly unripe hip, RIGHT: possibly ripe hip, dirty, blackberry stained fingers on far left]

In other news the sloes look amazing and I think I'm going to have a go at doing something with those, also. Apparently they need a good frost to ripen properly. Their dark blue skins have a couldy bloom on them at present and apparently you want them dark and shiny and ripe enough that a good shake will dislodge them. They're still cloudy now, though and tough to pick, so I guess I'll have to wait a while. I'm very excited about being a hedgerow harvester though - so cool.