Note to Self

Going away this weekend, then will be away for a few more days visiting my parents, so I boiled up the rosehips and am freezing the juice to make syrup from when I get back. 1 1/2 pints of rosehip juice.

The second straining of crab apple juice got me 3/4 pint.

Will do stuff with them next week!

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.