Early Spring? Make Mulberry Gin!

I found a big box of frozen Mulberries in our freezer yesterday. I gave a couple to the children as a chilly treat and then remembered that we had recently consumed the last of our super tasty Mulberry gin during the Winter nights. It was clearly time to create some fresh supplies.

My brother had given me a bottle of gin for Xmas and I was going to save it until the Summer months, but this seemed a project worthy of breaking that pledge. The decorative bottle that we had dispatched over Christmas was undoubtedly cute, but actually quite small, or so it seemed once we got a taste of it.

I filled too jars with the fruit and steeped it in gin; it soon took on a glowing ruby red hue. Normally when making liquors, I add a bit of sugar to help the process but Mulberries are so sweet, it did not seem necessary. I will test it in due course, just to be sure...

Spring seems to be arriving a full month early here in the UK. Plum blossom is blooming all over the place, snowdrops daffodils and crocuses are all flowering at the same time bringing a cheery flourish to the gloomy weather we have been experiencing.

Does this mean the Plums will be ripening a month early? Will they fruit before the Cherries? Perhaps February or March will turn dramatically colder and ruin the early harvest. Who knows? All we can do is wait and observe the changes as they occur. I remember a bad year for Cherries that I put down to high winds during the blossom season deterring pollinators.

Meanwhile, we can simply enjoy the florid display, allow it to lift our hearts and hope that it heralds a good Spring, warm Summer and prolific Autumn.

Boiling Sands in Spring

Thick drifts of snowdrops send a reminder of colder Winters, but Spring is definitely coming. The signs are everywhere. Colourful crocuses are popping up by the roadside. The first daffodils are trumpeting in warmer weather. I have even seen early Plum blossom in Hedge End where I work.

This weekend though, we were looking for a different type of Spring. We were hunting for the source of the river Hamble. The Hamble’s tidal estuary exits into the Solent and is Hampshire’s premier yachting mecca. Some of the older readers of this blog may remember the TV series Howard's Way, which was filmed there.

The source of the Hamble (a group of natural springs) can be found near the town of Bishops Waltham, in the Moors nature reserve. It is known locally as Sand Boils or the Boiling Sands and it is quite an exciting discovery when you first discover it. 

A strange phenomenon occurs where chalk aquifers meet clay and sand but geology lesson aside – when you look into a shallow stream basin, true to name, the water appears to be boiling! 

Sand on the bottom of the clear stream bubbles and swirls as if some underground heater has been turned on. This is an illusion caused by the water being forced up through the stream bed; the water is actually cold. The film (below) captures this curious effect better than the photo.

We washed our muddy wellies by paddling in the boiling sands and then set out on a short walk through the reserve, to make them even muddier. It is a beautiful area with lots of interesting things to see, but even the established paths were mostly under water. We spotted a venerable old apple tree that had covered the ground at its feet with hundreds of small apples. We also noticed a Nuthatch singing a buzzing song high up in the crown of a tree.

There are various different areas where the water wells up from below and many of the trees stand in quiet pools creating a unique environment. The different spring waters all gradually come together and there is an ancient mill (Chase Mill). The river then runs down a valley to the lovely little town of Botley, where there is another historic mill. Thereafter the river is tidal as the estuary leads down to the Solent via Manor Farm Country Park, Bursledon, Wasash and Hamble.

A few years ago, my brother in law and I paddled a kayak up the Hamble estuary from Bursledon to Curbridge. There we had a tasty Sunday roast in the Horse and Jockey, before heading back down the river again. We saw Kingfishers, Herons, Oyster-catchers, Turnstones and many other birds on our journey.

Solent Storm Warning

We popped down to Leap Beach, in the New Forest to check out the weather in the Solent. The wind was savage and it was difficult to walk into it due to flying sand stinging our faces. The vista was slate grey, the foam streaked sea was whipped into an angry rage. We ate our picnic lunch from the safety of the car, before venturing out into the howling wind.

Every now and then the low, thin sun came slanting out from beneath the clouds. This contrast gave us some respite from the persistent weather and the lovely shearing light created long shadows off the beach groins and scuttling sea-birds.

Despite the havoc wreaked by the relentless storms that have lashed the South of the UK, the jewel-like crocuses continue to spring from the sodden turf; brightening my cycle ride to and from work. I have even spotted plum blossom buds, preparing to burst open.

Speaking of work, my lunch box is still packed with healthy nuts and apples that we picked last Summer/Autumn. The apples have been tucked away in our shed for the last 5 months and they are still crisp and tasty.

Apple from the Common

Walnuts and Hazelnuts will keep for ages; I keep ours in wicker baskets in the house and they are lasting very well this year. I spend 20 minutes cracking the shells off and then chuck a few raisins into the mix.

We still have some Poached Pears, preserved in syrup. I bottled these last year and they make a delicious evening treat for a stormy night. I love them heated up and served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream…

Signs of Spring and a Seed Swap

The land is currently so saturated that any rain seems to simply sit on the surface, in dank, dark puddles. However, despite the depressing weather, it’s always nice to discover something new, even if it’s only fresh news to you.

For instance, from a young age, I knew that catkins were the flowers of the Hazel tree. Children love collecting and playing with these soft furry danglers and we often compete to see who can find the longest. What I didn’t know, was that the catkin is the male flower and that the Hazel, also has a female flower!

I discovered this fact for myself, when photographing catkins recently; I spotted some tiny pinkish flowers, clinging to the same branch. They looked like miniature, red sea urchins.

Having seen them, I was surprised that I had never noticed this detail before and further investigation proved that these little marvels were indeed the female partner to the male catkins.

I have also spotted other signs of Spring, crocuses, starting to show their colourful faces; in a spirited attempt to dispel the gloomy, grey, wet weather. Snowdrops are also flowering in the fields and hedgerows.

Snowdrops are out now too...

While we are thinking wistfully about Spring, there is a Seed Swap on Sunday the 9^th February in Southampton, opposite the Art House Café. 

It starts at 11.00 am till 3.30 pm; we will be there later on. 

I will also give a quick talk on our adventures with the Urbane Forager project at the Art House afterwards; so, you can have a cup of tea and a tasty cake too...

Do come along and say hi, if you can. 

Beautiful Springtime

Despite the British weather doing its damndest to convince us otherwise, Spring is gradually turning the corner.

Crocuses have put on particularly handsome displays this year. I love the way that the swathes of colour filling the roadsides, shift shades, from one week to the next.

Daffodils are now beginning to brighten the verges, waving their fresh bright yellow trumpets defiantly at the relentless streams of dirty traffic.

The plum blossom and blackthorn came out strongly but has been looking a bit battered after recent weather conditions (the Beast from the East). But it is still a good marker to note where plums may be plentiful, when the Summer finally arrives.

While enjoying the colourful displays that brighten my damp rides to and from work, I am now looking forward to more warmth, sunshine and green leaves in the hedgerows and trees.

I'm also looking forward to April, when delicate Bluebells fill those secret woodland floors with magical carpets of azure.

Spring Flowers

Most people associate Spring with blossom and flowers.  But the seasons do not suddenly change, rather they segue, sliding from one into the other and occasionally back again. However, the wheel turns relentlessly and the more times we see it rotate, the more we become acquainted with the sequence.

Although the months slip and slide and what happens during their passage can vary; within a tolerance, we can predict, roughly, what will appear at a given time.

January brings delicate snowdrops, for the galanthophiles.

February fetches up the shifting colours of crocuses.

March trumpets in yellow daffodils on the roadsides and then Blackthorn (Sloe) and Plum blossom in the hedgerows and trees . Having said this, I have already seen my first Plum blossom of 2013 and recently in Devon we saw a deligtful roadside bank with Snowdrops, Crocuses and Daffodills all in bloom at once.

April fills the woodland floor with Bluebells and Cherry blossom bursts from the trees.

April-May brings the Apple & Pear blossom as Spring eventually draws to a close. May-Day heralds the start of the Summer; with Elderflowers, ready to be turned into champagne and cordial.

Something else for me to point out, is that I'm still eating delicious apples that we picked last September/October and stored in our shed!

Snowdrops and Crocuses

After the cold and dark season has set in, it is always a pleasure to spy the first fresh flowers when they pop up. These flowers are not a Sign of Spring, rather an indication that Winter is progressing in its customary way; giving us faith that the light and warmth will eventually return.

Snowdrops in Winchester, Near the Cathedral

Snowdrops are usually the first and traditionally show their pretty white faces in clumps or drifts from January through February, I did even notice some last year in December. They are often found in churchyards or in hedgerows by fields. Galanthophiles (snowdrop fanciers) eat your hearts out!

Snowdrops in Salcombe, Last December!

The next flower to show is the colourful crocus adding a vibrant tinge to roadside verges and parks through February; this makes a pleasant change from the ice, frost, mud and cabbage with which the month is normally associated (Northern hemisphere).

Beautiful Crocuses on the Verge

Crocuses come in many hues; amber, yellow, white, cream, purple and mauve are common. Often one welcome swath of colour will be gradually replaced by another, giving an animated show, handsome enough to make my chilly, daily cycle-ride into work almost worth all the effort.

A Dew Drenched Ivory Crocus

The spice Saffron, frequently used to season and colour curries, is made from the dried stigma of crocuses. This seasoning is exceptionally expensive but I could never endorse the vandalising of these Winter jewels for this use – they give too much visual pleasure.

This Will Look Different Today; It's -5 deg C and I'm in Bed with a Temperature ;-(