There are many reasons I love living in the countryside and they are highlighted in the summer. This time of year the hedgerows and gardens are resplendent but they don't just paint a pretty picture, many of the flowers and fruit can be foraged. We do often have to wait a week or too longer than our neighbours further east for blossoms to develop, this gave me time make the most of the Elderflower crop. Being my first time experimenting with the flowers I stuck with producing cordial, my mother however has been more adventurous and attempted to follow the champagne recipe. I think I made the wiser decision as currently out of the six original bottles of elderflower champagne only three remain, something along the processing line has not quite worked as the bottles are exploding one by one.
I think my parents might disagree when I describe finding fruit and veg in the garden as foraging, but surely if you pick it then you have earned the right to eat it? Unfortunately they haven't made the same mistake as a few years ago when choosing to holiday just as the strawberries ripened perfectly, I might have to share them now but I have certainly marked this time of year in my diary to ensure I will be at home.
As a Pisces I have always loved the water and living where we do we have the luxury to choose between the two coasts that border our county, it isn't just the direction I struggle to decide on but also which activity. This week I sampled both, heading south for a sail in Plymouth Sound and then north for a surf at Porthtowan. I am not skilled in either sport but that does not detract from the enjoyment I have when either on or in the sea.
