Such a long time!

Well what a few weeks.  Starting with a wonderful camping holiday with my sons plus extras (Coast of mid Wales), followed by a week camping with best friends and my goddaughter (Pembrokeshire).  The weather was kinder the first week than the second, c'est la vie.  Unfortunately the planned short trip to Spain did not take place due to illness of a close family member and to compensate for the sad feeling of the end of another poor summer I have thrown myself into foraging.

Needless to say the freezer is full of fresh raspberries and have picked over 40lbs of hedgerow blackberries - of which there is an abundance this year.  The jam is in the pantry and I made chilli jelly to warm things up on the cold winter nights.  The nights have already started to draw in as we approach September.  It was pitch black at 9pm twice this week. 

I went to pick sloes yesterday to make some sloe gin for Christmas.  However, the sloes - unlike the blackberries - are very poor this year and are going to be late, if I can get to them before the birds!  So picked more blackberries and made two apple and blackberry pies with sweet pastry.  Not having a sweet tooth myself I did try them and have to admit they were very tasty with a good twang.  I spent some time making the pies look pretty with decorations on the top only for them to scoffed in a moment.  However, they looked beautiful and I found it therapeutic.

Am now waiting for the crabapples so that I can make more varieties of jelly and will again make a good batch of blackberry and sloe gin jelly which is truly my favourite with any meat hot or cold!

The following photographs are of the Pembrokeshire coastline, the flowers in the camping garden and a couple of Port Meirion - a visit I never refuse!