Monday 3 October 2011

An organised Foraging Walk

Yesterday as it was so very hot, we decided that rather then get stuck in traffic, with everyone else  fleeing the city  into the countryside, we would go on a local foraging walk.  I had seen it advertised the week previously in one of those free newspapers that pop through the door.

It was great fun, although most of the fruits have finished, so it was a case of you could find blackberries, rosehips, apples, pears, etc, if you'd come earlier!

The man  who led the walk was very knowledgeable, he not only knew about the local Flora and Fauna, he was also able to give a history of "Ham Lands" and told us about "bat walks" in June, I'm certainly going to attend those next summer.  I often see them flitting about, but had no idea there was so many in this area.

I was impressed with the number of people interested in foraging


The apples are nearly all gone

and the rosehips

The blackberry bushes are empty

But I did find a mushroom,
However, I'm not knowledgeable so decided to leave it in the ground.




Today as a special treat for me, Richmond have decided to dig up the pavements right outside my house, during the hottest October heatwave in over a hundred years!

I know I should be glad, it will be lovely to have a new pavement.  (Although I'm also sure a utility company is waiting around the corner to come and dig it up and ruin its' beauty.)

So now I have a choice of windows closed and being hot, or windows open and the house being full of dust!  I've gone for option one, with the added advantage of the noise not being quite so loud!

A lovely drill was used to break up the pavement and concrete!

I'm not sure how to cross the road!

And just to make sure I (or my neighbours) can't park too near our houses
we have a store of sand and cement right across the road from us!

Blinds down, windows closed

Electric fan whirring!


Rather selfishly, I  wish it could have been done over the summer, whilst I was away!

8 comments:

  1. If it's any consolation, I'm either sweltering or tormented by wasps. Score so far, dozens of wasp corpses v one sting.
    Can't quite bring myself to pay the wasp man when first cold night will finish them off free of charge!
    I went hopefully foraging for sloes on Saturday but barely found a handful. Not sure if I'm too late or if others got there before me.

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  2. My husband finds loads of fungi on his dawn walks. Its his birthday Friday so he is getting an identification book. Hope I live to tell the next tale.

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  3. I love those walks where you go back home hand filled with all sorts of wonderful forest findings (except for the mushrooms, of course!).
    As for the fan, it is a huge surprise. Yesterday the high temperatures you're having was on the news and I thought they overreacted. Now I see they didn't. How strange is that? We have chilly weather in Greece and you have summer all over again!!! I can only say this: Enjoy!!!

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  4. How inconsiderate to repair the pavement now! It's funny how they never seem to give you notice of these things.

    Your walk sounds like fun - I must try and go on one next year.

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  5. Mary, we checked the two Sloe trees on Ham Lands all gone, I may resort to buying sloes this year. I do love a glass of sloe gin in the deep midwinter (which is probably next May!)
    Jill, great present, good luck!
    Rose, the weather here is amazing, everyone is out and about in shorts, tee-shirts and flip-flops!
    Jennifer, it's refuse day tomorrow, we're not sure if the dustbin men will be able to get to the bin and three recycling boxes we have!
    Hope you can get to join a foraging walk, it was great fun!

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  6. yourw alk looked like great fun. It is nice when you have someone to guide you and point out the little thigs you would have missed if you were on your own.

    I hate it when they dig up the footpaths.The dust gets every where.

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  7. I'd love to go on a foraging walk like that & going to look out for one.

    Heat & dust - what a pain.

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  8. I see you've added my blog on your fav blogs list, Jude!Thank you so! I'm so happy you like it!!!

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