Happy autumn equinox people! It's miserable weather today so I thought I'd share some autumnal pictures from last weekend instead.
We went for a walk in the nature reserve at the edge of the city last weekend with some friends. It was a beautiful day full of autumn sunshine, with just a taste of winter in the air.
We went for a walk in the nature reserve at the edge of the city last weekend with some friends. It was a beautiful day full of autumn sunshine, with just a taste of winter in the air.
I spotted some hops growing over a doorway.
Our friends spotted some Siberian chipmonks stocking up for winter.
We tasted some small and very bitter wild apples.
We spotted some unidentified berries, which we didn't taste!
Unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of blackberries, which were our main target - they were all small, shrivelled and dried out. I did however pick some acorns to have a go at making acorn coffee...
The unidentified berries look like hawthorn to me. I have a feeling there is something you can do with them but I am not sure what! Never heard of acorn coffee before. How did it turn out?
ReplyDeleteEleanor xx
No verdict yet on the acorn coffee - taking aaaages to grind with pestle and mortar in the absence of a coffee mill.
DeleteOoh hawthorn berries? I've googled it and it certainly looks similar... according to t'internet you can use them like sloes for flavouring booze, eat as fruit fresh or in smoothies, or make hawthorn jelly... Thanks!!
Hi Nickie, the berries look like hawthorn to me - not poisonous but not exactly what you'd call edible either (although I believe I read someone used them dried for food - I guess the internet will solve that one for you). I have made wine from them (it comes out white bizarrely); the berries have a lot of starch in them so it's best if you freeze them first to help break the berry down. They are best, though as a staple for wildlife - again I think it's their starchyness which helps add the calories on for birds and small mammals.
ReplyDeleteThe berries are hawthorn and you can eat them but not the seeds inside! They contain cyanide.
ReplyDelete