500 gramms and a bit of foraging

In my newly acquired Abundance book by Alys Fowler I am enjoying flicking through to find lots of ideas of what to make and how to store my abundance of produce I AM going to get this year. there is even a recipe for Jerusalem artichoke chutney, so this year gorgon the pig may have to share those windy artichokes.

The strawberries i replanted have been useless so no Jam to go with our scones and cream but I have found a recipe by Alys for Wild strawberry jam, which as we have wild strawberries along the banks along the roads and in our woods it got me thinking ... small scale jam, i even found some little jam jars in the supermarket, how cute.

compared to the size of a normal strawberry the wild ones are tiny but there taste it so concentrated and strawberryish.

So the locals may of seen a mad English woman scurrying up banks in search of the tiny berries of scruminess, along with two dogs on flexi leads who didn't seem to understand the importance of the search for not one could be left under a leaf.

Every opportunity has been taken to partake in a little picking, I've been carrying a jar around with me as I've worked shearing under the pig's electric fence.

Today i am up to 400gramms waiting in the freezer (as recommended by Alys) as i am determined to only use wild foraged strawberries. i only hope the day of rain hasn't let those pesky miniature slugs eat those miniature strawberries that i will be searching for tomorrow. It must be getting near to jam making.....

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Demounting a hanger

Farmer J has brought a second hand hanger. It's an extension to be added on to the farms hanger which up to last year housed the cows in 2/3rds and hay in the other 1/3. As we now have more cattle and calves the hay space is being converted to house the cattle giving them full access to it. Only thing is the extension has to be dismantled (and erected when planning permission is granted). He managed to take down the road crash barriers on the side of it but need my gophering skills today to start taking off the roof. Cold, foggy and damp it was a bit chilly standing around however we did have a visitor, a old lady hunt dog. Once fed and watered (doesn't everyone carry dog food in their car or is it just me?) she found a draught free spot between the hay bales to have a sleep before being called back to her hunter once hunting had finished. So a 1/3 of the roof is down with the rest to be completed on Monday ready for the metal structure to follow.

Parisot lake

As it is a holiday today here in France (Bastille Day) we took the afternoon off an popped over to Parisot lake for a walk with Sorrel. It has all changed, since the lake was emptied and cleaned up this year you can now swim in it, as well as inflatable toys to play on, a life guard, bikes to hire, a new fenced in play area for small people and a total spruce up. But there is a price we were charged! 3 euros an adult, which I guess is OK if you are using the facilities but Sorrel didn't fancy a dip. The cafe is still open but that would of been too much for Sorrel to cope with being so close to people and music so we opted for a bench to sit on in the shade before walking around the lake. Sorrel opted for being Billy no mates and laying by herself, if be it for a short period of time before bikes and people went by. We are now waiting for the free firework celebrations over the chateau tonight - if we can stay up that late.😃

2ENJ093 - FRANKLIN

Eight years ago today Franklin came into our family, a rescue dog from the SPA in Rodez we drove to see if they had a dog to re home. He had been there a month after being left tied to a bin in the town centre, chosen because he didn't bark, he came to us to say hello and was completely different from the dog we had lost days before Christmas. 120 Euros he cost, a young boy still a pup, very thin but with a look of take me home please. A collar put round his neck, forms completed, cheque handed over and a kiss from the manager and he was ours. Five minutes down the road in the car he threw up. Five minutes in the house and he had weed up the settee and collected an assortment of treasures including socks, toilet roll inner tubes, tissues and soft toys all placed in a pile under the table and garded. He ate at an amazing speed, fearing he would loose it to our other dogs. Then he started to bark, he has a fine bark on him. He barks for his tea, when a visitor arrives, the ...

The English Paysanne

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