Autumn Arrives

Autumn has arrived and with it the normal flurry of fruit and nut based foraging activity. Recently we have been collecting Sweet Chestnuts and toasting them in an old syrup tin inside our garden fire. Perfect for those chilly evenings as the dark season approaches.

There are still plenty of delicious Apples in the trees and we have been out gathering extra stocks for Apple Bobbing and other All Hallows/Guy Fawkes based events and activities.

We have picked close to 300Kgs of Apples this year, a new family record but there are still lots of trees, filled with fruit, out there that we have not tapped into. Remember that the later Apples tend to be harder, more dense and these fruits will be better for keeping throughout the Winter. Our store is already over-flowing.

The colours of Autumn are always a pleasure to behold and this is a great time for a walk in the woods in order to fully appreciate the russet/red/gold spectrum that is waiting for us, out in the wilds.

Crab Apples are still available for collecting in their thousands, they can be red, yellow or green. There is of course a true bounty of wonderful preserves and drinks that can be made with Crab Apples.

Whilst we wonder at the mists and mellow fruitfulness of our Autumnal world, the leaves are turning to gold and falling, flickering from the darkening branches, spiralling down to the roots that poke through the ground like bones of the earth. 

Each yellow/brown leaf is a wonder in its-self and it is all too easy to miss this beauty. So, take the time to appreciate the detail. Pause your busy life. Go out for a wander (not a march), You do not need a car, you do not need a plan; even the city holds beauty in its roadsides and parks.

And don't forget those Apples! There are loads left and they are free for the taking. Check out the Falling Fruit map and zoom in to your area. This picture here was taken in the Makro Supermarket car park in late October and we have already had about 30 Kgs off this tree. 

the Feast of All Hallows

Over the past month, we have been so busy with Apples, Pears, Walnuts and Hazelnuts and everything else that I have hardly had time to update the blog. 

I have also been busy rehearsing reading the Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe for the Feast of All Hallows, a scary family event (mostly) taking place in and around haunted Rownhams House, in Southampton.

There will be Theatre (a short production of Mary Shelly and the Monster), Music (from some Shimmering Bees), a Pumpkin Parade, Food, Apple Bobbing, Roast Chestnuts, a Bar, a Disco and of course me, reading the Raven.

Enjoy the harvest season and celebrate Halloween/All Souls/All Saints/Samhain in whichever way suits you.

The Many Apples of Mansbridge

As soon as October arrived, the temperature dropped. This is normal but this year it felt like someone had thrown a switch. However, when Apple Day @ Mansbridge Community Orchard came around, the sun was shining and the sky azure.

As soon as we had set up the equipment, the local children were asking what were we going to be doing. Once we had explained, they quickly recruited themselves into the communal effort.

The stages of this process are very simple...

1. Picking, grab the apples, fill the bags and return to base.
2. Slicing, chop the apples into segments and remove any really rotten parts.
3. Scratting, milling the apple slices into a finer pulp
4. Pressing, turning the screw on the cider press and watching the golden nectar flowing into the bucket.
5. Drinking, glugging down cups full of  gorgeous Apple juice & filling containers to take home.
   

I even found time to scurry off and harvest a huge bag of Pears. We will combine these with some of the Walnuts we have collected to make Pear & Walnut chutney - unless they get used up making Pear Chocolate Upside-down Cake!

We have been holding seasonal Apple based community events for five years now and every year we have more fun and involve more people. 

Our message is simple; the fruit is out there, you simply need to locate it, pick it and process it (or eat it straight off the trees). It is not difficult, it is fun and anyone can do it.

Autumn + Apples + Friends = Fun

September and October are crazy season for many families, with the holidays over, children back to school and the Autumn creeping in to remind us that Winter is on the way. 

For Urbane Forager family this busy period is exacerbated by the fact that we have a huge amount of fruit and nuts to gather and process. It can be difficult to find the time, what with work, shortening days, the after school clubs etc. It can also be hard work; we have already picked and processed over 200 Kgs of apples for example, but it is always fun and it is all free.

We have had two afternoon sessions of pressing apples in the garden with friends and this year we were fortunate to have the loan of a weatherproof gazebo for the day. Once the brief but essential health and safety talk is over, the small army of juice-fuelled children takes over the process and, once they get going, they require only a minimum amount of supervision.

Over these two events, we managed to produce about 50 litres of the most gorgeous apple juice, some of which will be Pasteurised and bottled for drinking/keeping and some of which will become refreshing, golden cider, for consumption throughout the year.

Walnuts have also been falling and we have been collecting these too from our favourite trees. I will combine these nutritious nuts with delicious Pears, harvested from the Mansbridge Community Orchard, to make enough of Pear and Walnut Chutney to last the year.