I love this time of year

[Toddy]

Well I do. It's a beautiful clear, cool, calm morning and I've been gathering. I've collected the Dyer's Chamomile, the St John's Wort and the Tansy this morning. Found two handfuls of the wild strawberries for munching and picked up the windfall apples that are now minced and slowly simmering down with strawberry juice (from the jam bushes) for the paste for fruit leathers.
It's a very good day.
I've just sat down with my first mug of coffee, and up in the sky it's so still that where two jets have crossed contrails I'm looking at the most beautiful Saltire Lovely.

I like the busy-ness of this season, the getting ready-ness feeling.Lots to do and it's the right time to do it. And, the air smells different; cooler, moist, even on a sunny morning such as this one.

I'm having a *very* good day I hope yours is too.

atb,
Toddy

 

[Toadflax]

Glad to hear you are having a good time. I'm stuck in an office at the moment in front of a computer (though I do enjoy my job - most of the people I deal with genuinely appreciate what I do for them) but I got myself a load of brambles on Saturday afternoon and my daughter and I made some bramble jelly.

But it is scary how fast things go by. I set myself the goal (back in February) of really starting to learn about wild food this year, but time goes by so quickly. Elderflowers were gone (though I managed to make 10L of champagne and some syrup), elderberries are already coming along, and I seem to have missed out on so many other plants. Still, I have made some progress.

The family are interested in what I do, but see it as another of my quirky interests. Still, for me it's better than slobbing around in front of a TV.

I think that those crisp, clear autumn mornings are my favourite time of the year - hope we get some nice ones.


Geoff

 

[xylaria]

I noticed yesterday morning that smell of early autumn, that you described so poetically. I love season changes, it is nature whispering life is impermanent. The main fungi crop will come in now. Saw two massive birch boletes yesterday, both maggoted through.

 

[BorderReiver]

Don't know about busy ,I spent a good five minutes in the woods this morning just standing watching the leaves gently falling through the branches.

Magic.

 

[Jodie]

I found my first crop of mushrooms outside my flat this morning, and my first conker of
the season. It seems delightfully autumnal even though I suppose it's technically summer.

Autumn is my favourite.

What excitements are coming up outdoors then? What should I be keeping my beadies
open for? What can I be doing?

I think I want to go on another course...

 

[John Fenna]

Just picked 6 litres (icecream tub measurements as that is what I collected them in!) of blackberries. My hands are now purple! Great crop this year with signs of a great sloe crop to come. I have had my first hazels and the crop looks prommissing - as long as the bushy tailed tree rats don't get there first.....
Dehyrating some of the glut of apples off our trees, Mmmmm tasty apple rings(said like Homer) I will also try some apple leather and make a dried fruit salad.

 

[EdS]

got about 7lb of greengages of one tree yesterday.

 

[spamel]

I'm gonna try the acorn thing this year, but I am gonna try to bake them on a hot stone by the fire. I'll save some for coffee as well! then of course, I need to keep an eye on my sloes, I think Ratbag has been up and had a look at them and they seem to be doing better than they were before. I'll get up there this weekend hopefully.

Blackberries are doing great, hazel nuts are being pinched by the tree rats! Beech mast will be ready soon, I hope. Never tried them so that should be interesting. Sweet chestnuts will start to drop this month too, I've seen one somewhere up in silverwood so I need to go investigate!

I am keeping my eyes peeled for 'shrooms as well, it will be like starting all over again as I have no idea where they will grow around here. May try for some Ramsons roots as well.

 

[shep]

Elderberry jam is setting as we speak and an attempt at an elderberry and apple leather is out in the sun (not looking too promising though) hey ho.

The little one eats the 'backburs' (that's blackberries) as fast as I can pick them.

I found some mushrooms last week and collected a wee bag full, but after an hour with the Collins gem and paroxysms of my 'mushroom fear' they ended up in the bin. I think they were fairy-ring champignons, but you can't be too sure...

 

[Toddy]

The day has just rambled on. HWMBLT foraged some early Beech mast so it's been sitting out in the Sun cracking open; I think we've got about 500g of nuts This lot is going to be crushed and boiled up for lamp oil.

The apple/ strawberry fruit leather is gorgeous

I've picked and pounded up some sage, some thyme and some onion seed in coarse sea salt and it's drying out nicely; it's an excellent seasoning for rice or veggies when out and a healthy pinch added to dried tomatoes when making a savoury bannock is really tasty.

I stripped off some fresh nettle leaves from the plants I keep cut and picked short, and when they dry off I'll crumble them up for salt and tea.

My flax is ready to be pulled too; I leave it long enough to really set good seed even though it makes for not 'quite' so good fibre.

Docken seeds are ready for gathering and the thistle down has to be seen to be believed this year. Enormous heads and it's excellent for firelighting. Incidentally the drained and dried mush from the beech mast is supposed to burn well too.

Hawthorns and Rosehips are next on my must do list.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[JonnyP]

Crikey, you are busy Toddy...Whats the St Johns wort for..? Isn't it quite potent stuff. How do you make the lamp oil..?

 

[Toddy]

The St. John's Wort gets used for an oil that I turn into an ointment for nasty scraped bruises, healing the drying out skin of a burn and soothing the ache in my joints. It's not a heating oil like black pepper or even birch or arnica, it's a soaking in and calm it all down type. The part that helps with depression isn't in this type of oil.
I also get a wonderful range of dyes from the plant too, from red through to bright yellow and rich greens.

The lamp oil is made by crushing the seeds and bringing them to a simmer in hot water. Let it cool and strain and skim. Seems a shame 'cos usually we just munch the nuts but they dry up in the shell so quickly I thought I'd try this too.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[JonnyP]

The St. John's Wort gets used for an oil that I turn into an ointment for nasty scraped bruises, healing the drying out skin of a burn and soothing the ache in my joints. It's not a heating oil like black pepper or even birch or arnica, it's a soaking in and calm it all down type. The part that helps with depression isn't in this type of oil.
I also get a wonderful range of dyes from the plant too, from red through to bright yellow and rich greens.

The lamp oil is made by crushing the seeds and bringing them to a simmer in hot water. Let it cool and strain and skim. Seems a shame 'cos usually we just munch the nuts but they dry up in the shell so quickly I thought I'd try this too.

cheers,
Toddy

Will have to give the lamp oil a try, I assume its the bit you scim off that is used...What do you use to crush the nuts, they are quite tough, so I should imagine a pestle and mortar is no good.S'orry for all the q's but I find all this very interesting...

 

[Toddy]

No worries I do use a big mortar and pestle but a couple of handy rocks work very well, I've also managed good results with a piece of paving slab and a bit of brick before now though
The oil floated on top of the water mixed in with the crushed gunk so I strained it through a handkerchief and squeezed hard. Beech nuts fall out of the hairy shell quite easily when they dry a bit, and the inner shell is really just a sort of tough skin you can peel off with your nails. I didn't bother for the oil and just crushed the inner kernals in the skin.
Someone else on the forum (apologies if you're reading, I can't recall who it was) posted a set of instructions last year.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[British Red]

Me too - would love to see a pictorial on that! Lets face it I brutally nicked your acorn coffee thing so I think we should make this a yearly event

"Toddy Teaches" has a nice ring to it

Red

 

[JonnyP]

Thanks Toddy, will let you know how I get on....I like the sound of "Toddy teaches" too...

 

[locum76]

our new orchard has produced its first fruit this year, im enjoying tasting each variety of apple as it comes into season. today it was george cave, bright red skin, crispy and juicy with a mild aromatic flavour.

 

[woodstock]

Does anyone know if you can eat Laural berriies I have never seen them before this year but the blackbirds love them.

 

[xylaria]

Does anyone know if you can eat Laural berriies I have never seen them before this year but the blackbirds love them.

It depends which laurel you are going on about.

 

[JonnyP]

I think laurel is poisonous....Don't try it unless you are certain it is edible....