Opportunist harvesting

Just been out for a walk with George, well not quite just, been delayed by visiting parents inbetween! Anyway, I went out this morning, what a beautiful day it is here. Whilst the dust clouds are over Australia, we are getting their sun. Together with the newly ploughed fields which feel so open there is certainly an Australian sky today - very very big!

Look what I found! A bag of treasure!

Well, sloe berries actually. But they are my kind of treasure when you are not expecting it! There I was over the fields, dressed in a rather odd fashion. When I saw the sun I got all excited and put on my old 3/4 length jogging bottom trousers. Now these really have seen better days and I should not leave the confines of my own home whilst wearing them. The knees are all baggy and have that shiney faded look that you get on old clothes! Also, they don't have pockets which means that I have to tie my door key to the stingy tie thing at the waist, post the dog poo bags in my bra strap and tuck my hankie in my waistband! Plus I am carrying the flingy stick and then the dog lead which usually ends up slung around me in an off the shoulder kind of look!

I do nothing to dispell the 'odd woman' theory either!

Anyway, I was rather pleased to discover a heavily laden sloe berry bush along one of the hedgerows, I had not spied it before, the only ones I had seen and am planning to visit next week are much futher away. So as I was quite unprepared for a spot of harvesting the berries were collected in the afore mentioned poo bags!

I shall be preparing the berries later and they will join the jars of Bramble Vodka (blackberry) I have steeping in the kichen from the last poo bag harvest at the weekend!

I was most put out to find other people gathering blackberries at the weekend, they had bowls and colanders with them all prepared. The thing is that I go walking out there everyday in all weathers and thought it distinctly unfair that other people (not hardy dog walkers) were gathering the fruits that I had my eyes on! So I had to get on and pick what I could before they stripped the bushes, all I had with me was the poo bags so thats what I used!

Isn't it a scrumptious colour?

I'm off to raid the larder now for lunch, take care all

Sarah xx