Bramblin’…

No such thing as a free lunch? Well there is if you forage for it. And we’re a bit of a foraging family, particularly in spring and autumn. September’s a great time for free treats from the earth – apples and brambles a-plenty for chutneys and vinegar; rosehips and hawthorn berries for a winter syrup. And the veg in the garden are still producing – tomatoes, beetroot, kale and green beans. It’s the last of the fresh produce before the hard winter months come in. A time to stock up and bed down.

And so with Mrs Rooke away – the kids and I jumped out to the hedges to pick natures fruits, and returned with magenta coloured fingers and mouths and a massive tub of blackberries. And then it was over to Mrs Rooke on her return to magic up blackberry vinegar and blackberry and apple chutney. It’s good for the mind, body and soul to live off and with the earth.

Not impressed with blackberry fingers

Hard at work

The Red Hand Gang

Blackberry stupor

Mum and Daughter night out

Autumn and the morning commute