HARVEST HOPEFUL

Today started off looking promising ... but the sky had other ideas and just as we got out of the car to trog the dog ... the rain came drizzling miserably down ... yet again! But as usual there are things that brighten ones day and my eye caught a moment of brightness

 young sycamore wings that had fallen onto a shining, wet, lichened stone. 

The grasses by the roadside have grown so high, that the dog almost disappeared amongst them and came out looking as if he had been through a dogs version of a car wash, but his coat was all covered in seed heads.

As I have said before, look closely at grasses and you will see a wonderful range of delicate colours and when the breeze blows, the grasses feather and flow. It is such a shame that the hay fields are looking just right for a good crop. This time last year the farmers were cutting the first hay and sweet smelling it was too. This year, looking at the forecast ahead there are no consecutive days, to mow, let the hay dry, to turn it and then let it dry a little more before baling. If the weather carries on like this, whole acres of a valuable crop for winter fodder will be lost. Another hedgerow crop is also suffering, the elderflowers.

These creamy, frothy heads are ideal for making a light summer fizzy drink or ... for the more patient, a beautifully delicate white wine. I also freeze the flowers to add a subtle floral flavour to puddings and jams. But ... one needs a dry day to pick them at their best when the natural yeast in the flowers is at it's highest concentration.

Only yesterday, I noticed that many elder trees like this one

<<< have already lost their flowers and some of the heads don't seem to have had the chance of pollination to turn into berries, another useful addition to the autumnal larder. This year it seems that nearly everything is growing large and going over fast. With all this wet weather there is less chance of all the insects pollinating. We can only hope that the months ahead provide us with better harvests in farming and foraging. Fingers crossed.