Convenience foraging.

[Tengu]

Showing off my rowanberry jelly to an annoying relative.

And she asked where I got the berries from.

I said off a rowan tree

And she said "not a cultivated tree, the council dont plant them so you can take the berries"

Should I? she gets mad when kids pull apples off the ornamental apple tree over the road, I have wild crabapples for that (I imagine you could use ornamental apples for your jelly) but round here there are no rowans bar those due to the auspices of the council.

I only take a few sprays; the rest are out of my reach.

where do you get your rowans from?

 

[spamel]

Tell her to stop being mental!

 

[Tengu]

Or that my taxes got to pay for the trees, why shouldnt I take advantage of them?

 

[spamel]

I can't believe she gets upset with you taking some fruit growing on a tree. God help us all!

 

[JohnC]

I recall someone at Treefest in Edinburgh who applied for and got a licence to gather wood etc from the council. It allowed him to (legally) take stuff, IIRC he said there was some idea that it prevented people "removing large volumes of foliage" etc from public parks.
I guess there would always be some people who, (unlike yourself who take only what you need to use and leave the rest,) would strip something and cause more rules to be made...
I hope you continue gathering fruits and educating relatives...

 

[firecrest]

tell her to visit the gardens of the local councillors. She will find lots of lovely flowers in their gardens that were supposed to be for the local parks but somehow disappeared along the way. You didnt pay your taxes for them to have nice gardens did you!

 

[redneck]

If you don't take them the birds will, horses for courses, give her a jar and she might forgive you!