23rd August to 29th August

I have been busy again this week so the ‘Other Half’ has taken the boys for their walks this week. I did take them out Sunday morning for a ramble around ‘The Secret Fields’ though as i wanted to see how the berries were progressing prior to me harvesting them in the coming weeks. The walk was lovely, as it always is there, and i saw a gorgeous kestrel hovering above one of the reed lined ditches just a short distance from where i was standing. I also spotted the resident buzzard, which i believe lives in a small copse of trees nearby, wheeling high on the warm thermals.

This small group of fields is where I do most of my berry foraging but I have to say that this year looks like it is going to be a very disappointing one for berry harvesting. The Hawthorn Berries are growing prolifically so I should get a good harvest of them, but the blackberries are pretty sparse as are the elderberries. The sloe berries are practically non existent and considering last year I picked 2 kg of blue fruits in barely any time at all this year I think I won’t even get half a kilo from the normally bountiful bushes. Its the sloes that I am a bit disappointed with here as last year was the first time I made SLOE GIN and it tasted gorgeous so I was looking forward to making more this year. Oh well there is plenty of other Blackthorn bushes growing locally so hopefully I won’t go short.