Planning Ahead

It's good to report a late flowering of Mountain Cranberry again. That could lead to fruit just a couple of weeks before Christmas as it did last year. Get recipes and jars ready for a better accompaniment to festive dinners than expensive imports from America.

Blackberries are now in season. It takes some searching to find good sized berries but for the determined picker they are around.

Bilberries don't seem to have survived in quite the numbers expected and I'm at a loss who to blame. Maybe complain to the RSPB for not providing enough falcons to scare off the pigeons?

I've been told that some spraying has been going on lately. If that's so what's happened to the policy of plastering notices up everywhere beforehand warning bilberry pickers that their harvest could be coated with Asulox?