It became quite obvious to me, today, that I need a blog category to describe the abundance that we discover here. I started this day by harvesting elderflowers that grew from a tree that shared close quarters with a mulberry and a cherry. Later in the afternoon, I saw that the black and golden raspberries were ripening. I picked two quarts from the wild areas on the property. This week, I’ve shared mulberries with the insects and birds to make smoothies for breakfast. How wonderful it is to harvest this abundance on warm June days accompanied by the sound of frogs and birds and buzzing insects.
Here is a close up (click on image a couple of times to get very very close up) of the lovely berries I picked today. I found them between the main garden and the barn on the edges of the culvert area/”ravine.” I found both golden and black raspberries down on the southwest corner of the lower pasture at the border of the woodlot. I froze the two quarts right away. I will be back to pick more. I would like to try this recipe for fruit leather; though, I plan to use my dehydrator. Maybe there will be enough for a pie or two as well!
These are elderflowers being infused to make a drink called Socata. It is a lightly fermented drink with lemon and elderflower, a bit of honey, a bit of yeast. Here is the recipe for Socata that I used today. At this point, the flavor is light and refreshing and very promising. I will let it sit on the counter a bit longer, occasionally stirring, and; then, strain and chill it.
Mulberry trees are everywhere at StellaLou. There are white and there are deep purple mulberries. So, many insects are drawn to this fruit. The stinkbugs seem to favor them. That’s okay…anything to get them out of the house! I have, also, been spotting a Baltimore Oriole (I think) visiting the mulberry tree that grows in front of the old chicken coop. There are plenty of mulberries to go around!
