Summer Picking

So if you read my last post - and given that this is July - you’ve probably imagined me wandering the moors, wicker basket or plastic tub in hand (depending on how romantic your imagination), fingers stained purple as I gaily go a-bilberrying.

Alas…..no! Sorry to deny you your pastoral daydream, but the sad truth is that there are no bilberries this year. At least, you have to search very diligently to find any. And when you do come across an occasional one, you can guarantee it’ll be pitifully small (as if normal bilberries weren’t tiny enough). And probably rather wizened.

Blame the rain. Or the lack of it. We’ve had an astonishingly long dry spell. Which has done nothing to swell the grain….or the fruit.

I’ve seen the odd foraging party out in recent days, hopefully brushing apart the bilberry stems. But they’ll have to pick long and hard and with enormous dedication to muster anywhere near enough for a pie this year. In fact, you could garner the berries from an entire moor and still not have enough.

So…..the few spare specimens there are will likely escape the jam-makers and pastry chefs this time around. That means they’ll be left for the birds and for opportunist walkers like me…..reaching out a hand as I amble by for a momentary taste of summers past.

Which doesn't sound so very bad after all.