{Autumn Bucket List} Forage

I remember from my own childhood, afternoons spent with my older sisters clambering through hedges and the fields behind our house (the very same ones as in the picture below) gathering blackberries for mum and nan to make into puddings for us. We'd also go & pick apples off our great aunt's tree in her back garden, & enjoy great big bowls of hot crumble with custard.

There's something about foraging and finding your own food from nature that is just quite lovely. I know that we can easily go to the supermarket and pick up a punnet of berries or even a ready-made crumble, but I really want to try and encourage the kids to get out and find what is already there around them. I obviously don't want them scrumping from other peoples gardens of course, but the blackberry bushes in the hedgerows are teeming with berries at this time of year, & what a waste it would be not to use them.

The Mister and I took E along the road to pick blackberries on Sunday afternoon since it was such a lovely warm day, and she had a great time filling up our tub with the juiciest berries should could find (and reach). They're just starting to go over now, but we still managed a good haul. E was very proud of her hard work.

We brought them home and gave them a good wash, and have now stored them in the freezer as we're going to be off apple picking soon, so we can use it all to make our very own crumble. Our next door neighbours have offered us the pick of the apples from their tree again this year, so H & E are very much looking forward to a bit of tree climbing! Have you been fruit picking for your Autumn bucket list?