Felt for Foraging and Jam making

Phew, what a crafty week I have put my poor hands through.

After discovering a fallen oak branch laden with baby acorns I realised soon would be the time for autumnal treasure gathering in the forest.

Technically we have a couple of weeks of summer left, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Our garden has not produced very much this year other than cherries so we decided to make “Garden Jam” with the small amounts that we did have remaining from hungry children in the garden.

Clockwise from top – redcurrants, Gooseberries and careless gooseberries, cherries, loganberries and raspberries with a few alpine strawberries

 

*****A simple recipe; 100G fruit and approx 85G jam sugar. Add a splash of water to the fruit and boil until the fruit begins to mulch. Add the sugar and allow to simmer until it has all dissolved. Add the juice from a lemon and a pinch of freshly grated ginger then boil the jam hard. Test by popping a small amount onto a saucer and if it resembles jam you’re good to go. Carefully pour into sterile jars and pop the lid on quickly to seal. Laugh quietly to yourself when friends complain they can’t get into your jam when the seal works too well.*****

The branches now look rather bare with just a few apples left to ripen away in the dwindling summer weeks.

It may not be autumn yet, but I always seem to get caught short whilst walking with the children so this year I vow to be prepared.

A few little things I have made this week for our treasure seeking (should we get our car back before the autumn!)…

Soon we will have to say goodbye to sitting under a tree in the sunshine with a story book and hello to woolly jumpers and travel mugs of hot chocolate with lots of cuddles to keep warm.

story time in the woods

I just have my fingers crossed for another little wave of heat to blow in and let us have a few more days in the sun’s warmth and light.

Where in the world are you – can you feel autumn on the wind yet? What do you look forward to most of all?