I had a slow start to the day as I'd worked hard yesterday but after lunch I decided to get my trailer mended, and as I got it ready to put on my rack to cycle it down to James St, a wiry old chap walked past and stopped and came down the drive asking where I got it made, or if I'd made it myself. I told him a friend had made it (Rob Kay) but I was getting it mended and was just off down to The Raylor Centre where there is a welder and car bodywork repairer. Tom, his name was, suggested that I should go to 'Blackers' in Osbaldwick, and then proceeded to tell me how to get there three times in a row! He said they'd do it for a couple of quid and on the spot, there and then.
So, I decided to give his suggestion a go, as the place at the Raylor Centre always needs me to leave it overnight and charges £10 cash or £20 with a receipt. I easily found Blacker Steel and a gent said he'd do it there and then... and indeed, only wanted a couple of quid for it. I gave him a fiver. I'll use that company in future!
On the way back I noticed an apple tree in the hedge which I went to look at, and then a greengage. I picked a couple of greengages but most weren't ripe, and a very little old lady came past and pointed down the Osbaldwick Link Road and said there were sweeter ones down there. So I went to look... and found two yellow cherry plum trees, one still with lots on the tree but lots on the ground, so I picked up quite a few there. Then I continued towards Hull Road and found another similar tree, with almost the whole crop on the pavement; it was thick with yellow cherry plums, and I almost filled the carrier bag I had. Opposite here were some damson trees absolutely laden. I have put these trees on the York Wild Fruit map which is part of the Edible York project.
I came home and my youngest son was enjoying his birthday party... although he had his big day earlier in the month, his party was today and he had 3 friends round, and they were all playing computer games together. I did a big load of chainsawing.
A Freecycler came round and picked up our unwanted armchair, at last! We advertised it yonks ago but it wasn't picked up... but Mairi posted a wanted and she came to see it and loved it... and put it in her car. Great!
A bit later, Melanie came briefly to pick up a carrier bag of compost.
I stacked logs and prepared a few plums from our Victoria Plum tree, then worked til 3am doing various things including a VAST pile of washing up. Enjoyed Ideal on BBC3 and Glasto revisited on BBC4.
Showing posts with label urban foraging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban foraging. Show all posts
Woke relatively late but got going quickly and had a very busy day.
I paid a quick visit to Alligator and Country Fresh and brought back 2 full sacks from Alligator and one box from Richard. I loaded these immediately into the Compostumbler.
I was out at the front and heard our neighbour Marion doing her hedge with an electric trimmer so I went to say hello. Whilst talking to her I noticed the tree above, an ornamental Prunus of some sort, had got lots of fruits on it... the first time it's fruited since we've been here. They were like large cherries or small plums. I tried one and it was lovely, tangy and sweet. Marion had one as well, and liked it too.
So, later I got the big stepladders and picked as many as I could, and I got a tray full, at least three kilos. I then found the tree in our Roger Phillips 'Trees in Britain' book: it's a Pissard Plum, Prunus cerasifera var. atropurpurea, a dark-leaved sport of the Cherry Plum or Myrobalan. Here's a good article about this fruit tree.
Whilst I had the ladders in the front, I helped Marion by lopping some of her hedge, at the top where she couldn't reach, and I had loppers and ladders so I did it for her. I also put the ladders up against the big pine tree which I'm slowly removing. It is too close to the house, shades our front room and the roof, which wouldn't be good if I put photovoltaics on it. But I'm not removing it all in one go in case the ground swells with the increased moisture that would then not be being transpired, and puts cracks in the house walls. I removed several branches, and cleaned out the gutters too.
I then cut back the Wisteria. This is a thug... I cut it back last year before the work on our roof, and it is already up on the roof again. I was quite brutal. Our youngest helped me by holding a builders bag open so I could collect the large amount of prunings, which I'll shred tomorrow I expect.
So, a very busy day... later on I tried to prepare some of the Cherry Plums for drying but I don't think this will be the best way of preserving them. Stewing will be better.
I paid a quick visit to Alligator and Country Fresh and brought back 2 full sacks from Alligator and one box from Richard. I loaded these immediately into the Compostumbler.
I was out at the front and heard our neighbour Marion doing her hedge with an electric trimmer so I went to say hello. Whilst talking to her I noticed the tree above, an ornamental Prunus of some sort, had got lots of fruits on it... the first time it's fruited since we've been here. They were like large cherries or small plums. I tried one and it was lovely, tangy and sweet. Marion had one as well, and liked it too.
So, later I got the big stepladders and picked as many as I could, and I got a tray full, at least three kilos. I then found the tree in our Roger Phillips 'Trees in Britain' book: it's a Pissard Plum, Prunus cerasifera var. atropurpurea, a dark-leaved sport of the Cherry Plum or Myrobalan. Here's a good article about this fruit tree.
Whilst I had the ladders in the front, I helped Marion by lopping some of her hedge, at the top where she couldn't reach, and I had loppers and ladders so I did it for her. I also put the ladders up against the big pine tree which I'm slowly removing. It is too close to the house, shades our front room and the roof, which wouldn't be good if I put photovoltaics on it. But I'm not removing it all in one go in case the ground swells with the increased moisture that would then not be being transpired, and puts cracks in the house walls. I removed several branches, and cleaned out the gutters too.
I then cut back the Wisteria. This is a thug... I cut it back last year before the work on our roof, and it is already up on the roof again. I was quite brutal. Our youngest helped me by holding a builders bag open so I could collect the large amount of prunings, which I'll shred tomorrow I expect.
So, a very busy day... later on I tried to prepare some of the Cherry Plums for drying but I don't think this will be the best way of preserving them. Stewing will be better.
I got up at 9am to get myself ready for work, a gig starting at 11am in Haxby. So I set out with all my circus and balloon stuff at about 10.30, and got to the private house at 10.55, in costume, and just managed to get my bike and trailer down the passage at the side of the house to the marquee set up in the back garden.
The birthday girl had about 30 friends there, most of her age (she will be 7 tomorrow) and so this looked like the perfect party for me; a good-sized audience and the perfect age for what I do.
But there were also a good sized group of grown-ups, which I like too, as some of my humour is aimed over the heads of the children to the adults whom I like to sit on chairs behind the kids who are usually on a carpet or rug in front of my 'stage' area.
The show went well and absolutely as it should do. Afterwards several adults also said they enjoyed it, which is always nice. I got paid and got everything packed up and set off towards home. I called in on Robin on the way back as I wanted to talk to him about a possible job removing a dead tree but he hasn't got a decent chainsaw at the mo so that's off for a while.
Then, when nearly home, I spotted a big lump of Chicken of the Woods on a Cherry tree, so I with much glee used my penknife to slice that off and bring it back. This is my favourite edible mushroom and I'll do something special with it tomorrow.
I picked up one small sack of compostables at Freshways and about half a dozen loaves.
I needed to rest a bit when I came in, but then Gill started going on about buying some potatoes for tea so I cycled down to Country Fresh and got spuds, carrots, broccoli, bananas and eggs.
Then after a coffee I went down the garden to do a load of compost management. I started to move the compost heap from where the bee hives will be going, putting the contents into two empty daleks for it's final sit. I'm also going to reposition the Sun Mar 400 tumbler as it has moved away from being horizontal and I want it to be more level, as it should work better.
Gill cooked the potatoes and broccoli for tea and made a nutloaf with bread, baked beans and grated carrot. Very orange and delicious.
Lots of emailing and facebooking tonight, following the mega social weekend. I took the dressing off my ripped up knee to let the wound scab over: it is hideous. And still painful.
The birthday girl had about 30 friends there, most of her age (she will be 7 tomorrow) and so this looked like the perfect party for me; a good-sized audience and the perfect age for what I do.
But there were also a good sized group of grown-ups, which I like too, as some of my humour is aimed over the heads of the children to the adults whom I like to sit on chairs behind the kids who are usually on a carpet or rug in front of my 'stage' area.
The show went well and absolutely as it should do. Afterwards several adults also said they enjoyed it, which is always nice. I got paid and got everything packed up and set off towards home. I called in on Robin on the way back as I wanted to talk to him about a possible job removing a dead tree but he hasn't got a decent chainsaw at the mo so that's off for a while.
Then, when nearly home, I spotted a big lump of Chicken of the Woods on a Cherry tree, so I with much glee used my penknife to slice that off and bring it back. This is my favourite edible mushroom and I'll do something special with it tomorrow.
I picked up one small sack of compostables at Freshways and about half a dozen loaves.
I needed to rest a bit when I came in, but then Gill started going on about buying some potatoes for tea so I cycled down to Country Fresh and got spuds, carrots, broccoli, bananas and eggs.
Then after a coffee I went down the garden to do a load of compost management. I started to move the compost heap from where the bee hives will be going, putting the contents into two empty daleks for it's final sit. I'm also going to reposition the Sun Mar 400 tumbler as it has moved away from being horizontal and I want it to be more level, as it should work better.
Gill cooked the potatoes and broccoli for tea and made a nutloaf with bread, baked beans and grated carrot. Very orange and delicious.
Lots of emailing and facebooking tonight, following the mega social weekend. I took the dressing off my ripped up knee to let the wound scab over: it is hideous. And still painful.
A very relaxing start to the day but at 10.45 had to get dressed to get on my bike to go into town, to my GPs for a 'flu jab, which I get as I have asthma and I could have a serious illness if I got influenza. So as I'm entitled to a vaccination, I get one every year.
I then went on to Sainsburys for some of their excellent bread and the Building Society to put in a tiny cheque, part of a payment from a gig last weekend, sent to me as a deposit (I never ask for a deposit, but occasionally someone sends one).
Then via Country Fresh to home and lunch. The children were complaining of being bored (!) so Gill and I decided to walk them down to the Castle Museum. We walked down Heslington Road which was a pleasent route, not too busy traffic-wise. However, Gill tripped over a line in the pavement (or something!) and ended up on the ground, but several people stopped to help her up before I got back to her, and within a few minutes she seemed to be ok. So we got to the Museum at 2.45 and spent an hour and a half there. As local residents with a York Card and proof of residence, we get in free. This museum is really good, York's best museum in our combined opinion. It's a museum of everyday life, with period rooms, washing machines and vacuum cleaners, shops and a brilliant cobbled street with a new lighting regime... a 'night-time experience' with thunderstorm, owls, dawn chorus and wake-up calls from 'residents'... a good addition to the experience! We chatted to the toyshop chap and had plenty of sitting down time whilst the kids enjoyed exploring and playing.
I walked back, collecting cans and bottles, whilst the others got the bus. They got back just before me, but I'd found about 30 aluminium cans, three steel cans and two glass bottles, all litter and now set for being recycled. I also found a handful of sweet chestnuts! Foraging rocks!
So a peaceful evening as the children were worn out, a good ploy! Lit both stoves to warm the house up, and blanched another load of grapes. Also cooked up a pumpkin soup (2 onions, chopped and fried in EV olive oil in a large saucepan on the woodstove, 2 sticks of celery, ditto, one half of a big pumpkin de-seeded, skin removed, chopped into chunks and dropped into the pan once the onion/celery was cooked. Added some water which I washed out the last marmite jar with, a cup of red wine and a squirt of balsamic vinegar, topped up with boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours. Tomorrow will whizz it and add herbs.)
Then had a game of Scrabble with Gill which I was lucky to win by one point!
I then went on to Sainsburys for some of their excellent bread and the Building Society to put in a tiny cheque, part of a payment from a gig last weekend, sent to me as a deposit (I never ask for a deposit, but occasionally someone sends one).
Then via Country Fresh to home and lunch. The children were complaining of being bored (!) so Gill and I decided to walk them down to the Castle Museum. We walked down Heslington Road which was a pleasent route, not too busy traffic-wise. However, Gill tripped over a line in the pavement (or something!) and ended up on the ground, but several people stopped to help her up before I got back to her, and within a few minutes she seemed to be ok. So we got to the Museum at 2.45 and spent an hour and a half there. As local residents with a York Card and proof of residence, we get in free. This museum is really good, York's best museum in our combined opinion. It's a museum of everyday life, with period rooms, washing machines and vacuum cleaners, shops and a brilliant cobbled street with a new lighting regime... a 'night-time experience' with thunderstorm, owls, dawn chorus and wake-up calls from 'residents'... a good addition to the experience! We chatted to the toyshop chap and had plenty of sitting down time whilst the kids enjoyed exploring and playing.
I walked back, collecting cans and bottles, whilst the others got the bus. They got back just before me, but I'd found about 30 aluminium cans, three steel cans and two glass bottles, all litter and now set for being recycled. I also found a handful of sweet chestnuts! Foraging rocks!
So a peaceful evening as the children were worn out, a good ploy! Lit both stoves to warm the house up, and blanched another load of grapes. Also cooked up a pumpkin soup (2 onions, chopped and fried in EV olive oil in a large saucepan on the woodstove, 2 sticks of celery, ditto, one half of a big pumpkin de-seeded, skin removed, chopped into chunks and dropped into the pan once the onion/celery was cooked. Added some water which I washed out the last marmite jar with, a cup of red wine and a squirt of balsamic vinegar, topped up with boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours. Tomorrow will whizz it and add herbs.)
Then had a game of Scrabble with Gill which I was lucky to win by one point!
