{"id":650968,"date":"2026-10-19T10:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/650968\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:20:12","slug":"country-diary-at-this-time-of-year-an-ancient-urge-to-forage-kicks-in-autumn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/650968\/","title":{"rendered":"Country diary: At this time of year, an ancient urge to forage kicks in | Autumn"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government suggests stockpiling<\/a>, and while tins and candles might prove useful, a more ancient urge kicks in for me at this time of year. Walking the hedgerows, the colours of jewels entice me, and my pockets fill with rosehips or glossy conkers. It\u2019s ingrained. For a vast stretch of human history, we survived by\u00a0foraging for food and medicine, even after agriculture became widespread.<\/p>\n

My blackberries are stashed in the freezer. Folklore advises picking them before Michaelmas<\/a> on 29 September \u2013 or 10 October in old folklore, when the devil spits on them<\/a>. It\u2019s reasonable, thus avoiding mouldy or frosted fruit.<\/p>\n

There is an order and a rhythm. Next, rosehips. I plan to make syrup, rich in vitamin C, but it\u2019s a faff. Instead, they end up dried in the oven, making healthy treats for the Connemara pony. Elderberries, tiny dark pearls that must be cooked before eating, are added to crumbles and apple pies. Sweet chestnuts are roasted on the wood burner.<\/p>\n

The rosehips ended up destined for the Connemara pony. Photograph: Kate Blincoe<\/p>\n

My favourite is the sloe gin ritual. Unlike blackberries, sloes are best picked after the first frost. In recent years, that\u2019s not been until well into December, so I pick now and cheat the process by freezing them for 24 hours before adding them to gin and sugar. By Christmas, the syrupy liqueur will be ruby red. Ribena for\u00a0grownups.<\/p>\n

Last year was a mast year of widespread bounty. You\u2019d expect this autumn\u2019s yield to be much lower, but it\u2019s not. The hedgerows are once again heaving. Maybe it is a reaction to a summer of drought, a panic effort in case the main plant does not survive.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always mindful of taking what is not mine, but this year, more than usual. The land I have walked for my lifetime is for sale. As tenants, we\u2019ve always had the same family of excellent landlords. Our position is secure \u2013 the tenancy is fixed for three generations, and the current landlords assure us the farm will only be sold to someone with a respect for conservation and the communities that love it.<\/p>\n

The air is cooler today, with the promise of much-needed rain. My stockpiling complete, I\u2019m ready to face winter and all that it may bring.<\/p>\n

Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian\u2019s Country Diary, 2018-2024, is available now at guardianbookshop.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The government suggests stockpiling, and while tins and candles might prove useful, a more ancient urge kicks in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46],"class_list":["post-650968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}