Elderflowers

I have raved on many occasions about the bit of stray that is 2 minutes behind our house. Today we made great use of it for elderflowers. I'm not sure how I became such an elder fan, maybe something to do with how many memories I have of homemade elderberry wine spilling all over our kitchen floor when I was a toddler, but I have a total passion for all things elder - elderflower cordial, elderflower ice cream/cheesecake, elderberry jam, elderberry cordial......

Today Nathaniel and I intended elderberry juice which I planned to make up a recipe for once we got home. We got to use all the best bits of the moor, the rabbit-ful meadow with hummocks of springy grass, the woods with little paths and the moor with odd copses.

Nathaniel was in charge of carrying, and he enjoyed his responsibility, using the basket as a battering ram to get stinging nettles out of his way.


We found a good supply of elderflowers, and Nathaniel picked enthusiastically until I explained that if we decimated one bush, there would be no elderberries in the autumn. He remembered all about how much he enjoyed elderberries!




When we had a basketful, we headed up onto the stray proper for buttercup collecting:


running down hills:


tree hugging:


and climbing:


Then we went back to the house and improvised elderberry juice with boiling water, a little lemon and sugar and a big blanket.

It was declared a great sucess!