What's in Season?

A couple of weeks ago, I went out and picked from the hedgerows six pounds weight (about 3 kgs) of blackberries. I noticed that the harvest this year in Cambridgeshire isn't particularly good. I have been blackberrying for three years in various parts of England. In comparison with 2005 and 2006, this year is decidedly poor. It makes one wonder what wildlife will make of it, as they really need wild food, unlike me who can shop in Tesco or Waitrose. Anyway, Nally and I together have got two demi-johns of blackberry wine on the go. There is now a dark, purply liquid frothing away in the containers. It should provide us with 10-12 bottles in a few months' time. My next project in this vein of the free harvest of the hedges, is hawthorn berries. They are currently colouring the bushes with a swatch of blood red, reminiscent (as St Cuthbert had it) of Christ's passion. I understand, from reading C.J.J. Berry (First Steps In Winemaking), that hawthorn berries can be made into wine. You need 2.25 litres of them for a demi-john. So off I go!