This is a wonderful time of year for walking along the hedgerows. They are laden with glorious berries. Happy days for the birds, and happy days for those of us who love to forage.
This is a great year for blackberries. The unwelcome amount of rain which fell almost every day in August has redeemed itself (slightly), by translating into the biggest and juiciest blackberries I have ever seen. And there are masses of them. What I don't understand is why they are still on the bushes. Could it be that it is just easier to reach for a punnet of berries in Tesco than to go out with a bowl and pick your own? That's a bit of a sign of the times. A very sad sign. What happened to the family-sized blackberry and apple crumble for pudding? Blackberries picked in the sunshine from a hedgerow bordering a newly harvested field, paired with some cooking apples from a neighbour's apple tree. What could be better?
There are also other good things in the hedgerow at the moment. Beautiful red cob nuts, and deliciously fragrant honeysuckle.
I've had my eye on some blackberries growing in the hedge opposite my home BUT the Primary School parents park there to drop their children off when school re-opened after the summer break. And someone stripped all the blackberries off the hedge! Doh!
ReplyDeleteWe used to go blackberry picking as a family outing! My god parents provided the apples from their orchard! The reward was the crumble and ice cream after a big family roast!
ReplyDeleteSport - interests and kids preferring phones over the outdoors don't even know that fruit is in the hedgerows! A crumble is made my Sara Lee and bought in the frozen section!
As you say sad and sign of the times!
Here there aren't many blackberries because the plant is considered a weed and sprayed relentlessly- :0(