Sloe, sloe, quick nick, sloe...

The grain harvest is well behind us now, all the fields are stubble bestrode with tightly bound straw. But in the hedgerows the forage calls... 

The tip into September almost perfectly aligned with autumns damp and overcast skies, and so this branch of sloes is all I captured today. In more ways than one, of course. 

Sloes need the frost to give them flavour, but if we waited for the frosts they'll be gone - round here forage is taken seriously! So these will be dried off and in the freezer in a few hours, and in the gin in a week or so.

I love autumn, with all the scents of "make ready for the cold" and gradual collapse. It's a time of change, as of course is spring. Winter is coming... but not yet, and there's still time for apple and blackberry crumble.