Now Is The Time Of The Harvest

Nature Notes published in the Hambledonian October/November edition:

As you read this edition of Nature Notes, the harvest is nearly over but this last two months have been ones of abundance and foraging joy. The heady mix of torrential rain and baking sun means that the hedgerows have done well this year and, where they haven’t been cut back to allow for access along the roads and back lanes, there is plenty to find. Hawthorn, sloes, bullace, rosehips, blackberries are all there for the picking. The blackberries, in particular, have even been a little early this year, appearing in mid July! I was even able to collect enough blackberries to make a delicious cheesecake.

As October approaches, old folklore comes to mind. Blackberries, however tempting, must not be picked after Michaelmas Day, 29th September. This was said to be because the Devil spits on the remaining fruit or, in some cases, wees on them. I’ll leave it up to you as to whether or not you risk it.

Elsewhere in the woods, sycamore keys hang heavy in the canopy, and chestnuts both the sweet and the horse, sort after for conkers, bend the branches of the chestnut trees. In the high winds of August acorns and hazelnuts fell to the ground green but many have stayed to ripen on the bough and are a bounty for the animals who hurry to bury them for their winter stores.

The once golden fields of swaying barely and stridulating crickets are now stubble with puddles of discarded corn not quite caught by the combine and crows punctuate the shorn fields picking at the leftovers.

As the fruit trees come to an end I always leave a few on the branches for the wildlife and the wasps that have been kicked out of their nests are now dying and hungry for sugar. They are at their peek in August as they scour the land for one last sugar hit and in the face of their persistence I try to remember their importance in our eco system and that without them to eat the aphids we would not have the abundance of crops that we currently enjoy.

Over the last couple of months there have been several elephant hawk moths seen in the area although I am yet to spot one of these lovelies myself. This olive gold and pink coloured moth has a hair-raising caterpillar with markings that look like enormous eyes, and is most commonly seen in May to August.

I have noticed the deer are on the move again and on several occasions roe deer have bounded across my path on my walks across the downs. On one of these walks I discovered an enormous black feather approximately thirty centimetres in length and on talking to a friend who is a naturalist I am assured it was a raven’s pinion feather. I have not yet spotted the raven in question but with a little more research, it appears they are in Hampshire so if you do see one, please do let me know.

We are now well and truly into the autumn and the hearth will soon be our friend once more. My suggested book for this month is ‘Discovering the Folklore Of Plants ‘ by Margaret Baker and published by Shire Classics. This fascinating little book is packed full of the facts and folklore of the plants that surround us every day and ensure you never look at the hawthorn or the humble nettle in the same way again.