Life and landscape, from Uplyme, in East Devon.
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Bramble leaves are colouring up. Seen here backlit by early autumn sunshine on the Trinity Hill Nature Reserve, an area of rough pasture and heathland near Axminster. Still blackberries to pick, and more unusually, the pale pink flowers are still in evidence on some of the bushes.
Backlit leaves. Love 'em! Almost as much as I love blackberries. Ours seem extra plump this year. Delicious. Straight from the bramble, in pies, fermented. I'm easy. James.
 | loiswakeman [Member] http://lois.co.uk 27/09/07 @ 16:07 |
Blackberry and apple is a marriage made in heaven - so redolent of the season. And warm berries straight from the hedgerow too - I'm almost drooling just thinking about it. As you say, they've been real whoppers this year. All the summer rain, I guess. Today I also found scads of wild crab-apples, almost weighing the trees down to the ground. So, like you said, don't prune the trees and all will be well!
(BTW, à propos of your blog title - do your cows eat blackberries before you get to them? I know my pony loves them - his prehensile lips come in very handy for picking!)
Yep, the cows really do eat blackberries. Well, some of them. But since we've literally miles of hedgerow bursting with bramble there's more than enough to go round. Obviously, the cows don't lip pick as such, it's more a tentative end shoot tongue grab, but very effective and clearly rewarding. By the way, blackberry and apple pie's my absolute favourite, with custard not cream, naturally. 
James.
27/09/07 @ 15:37