The Miscellaneous Adventures Digest
The Miscellaneous Adventures Digest
Podcast episode 3, dawn scything, elderflower collecting and a fizz recipe!
Hello all and welcome to the Friday Misc Adventures Digest. It’s been a busy week here with lots of time spent outdoors. We’ve also launched the latest episode of our podcast and it’s finally been sunny enough to gather elderflowers!
Dawn Scything
Andrew had an early start on Wednesday for the annual dawn scything event at Coniston. A small section of the meadow by the lake is cut every June to make way for an outdoor theatre production and it’s a good opportunity to use traditional methods to cut the grass. Doing it at dawn, when the dew is still on the ground helps make cutting easier (but the midges more prevalent!). The meadow is wonderfully species rich and includes orchids, yellow rattle, eyebright, pignut and much more. A group of local experienced scythers helped clear the area in 3 hours, just in time for a well earned cooked breakfast!
Lessons from the woods - Episode Three
The next episode in our podcast series, Lessons from the Woods is now available to listen to here. We hope you’ll enjoy this episode, it’s an honest and sometimes raw conversation about how much we changed as people during our time in the woods. We also discuss how society makes it difficult for people to slow down and appreciate nature, and also how difficult it is to access natural spaces in England. Andrew reflects on inadvertently acquiring ‘roughness’ through outdoor work and we ponder what the future might hold in our new environment.
Elderflower foraging and fizz making!
There’s finally been enough sunshine to get out and collect elderflowers! Collect them on a sunny day when the pollen is at its best to make the most of all the wonderful properties it contains. If you’re unsure, here is a guide for what to look for and how to identify elder.
I (Emma) usually collect enough to dry a batch that can then be used as a tea to treat hay-fever the following spring (combined with dried plantain, for extra anti-histamine power). I also like to make elderflower fizz. Last year, this was ready in time for summer solstice, but with things a little further behind here in Cumbria, I might be having it on my birthday in July instead.
Making the fizz is super simple. Just be sure that all your equipment is sterilised and very clean, to avoid contamination which will ruin the whole lot.
Simple Elderflower Fizz Recipe:
10 elderflower heads (gathered responsibly from a number of trees with abundant flowers on a sunny morning)
1 Lemon
450gm sugar
2.5 litres water
Method:
In a 2.5 litre glass jar, make a sugar solution using half the water (boiled) and dissolve the sugar. Top up with the rest of the water (cold). Add lemon juice and zest. Snip or pull the flowers off each elderflower head and compost the stalks. Stir everything up and cover the jar with a cloth (sterilised beforehand by boiling in water). Wait for a week - 10 days until you have bubbles (which means it has begun fermenting). Strain into bottles and let it sit for another week or two (longer if you like). Be sure to ‘burp’ the fizz by opening the lid a little every day or so, to avoid explosions!
Once you can’t wait any longer, pour and enjoy! (FYI the drink is about 5% abv once fermented, but can be higher, so bear this in mind!)
Do let us know if you try it, or if you have any other elderflower recipes you’d like to share, we’d love to hear!
Wishing you all a very happy weekend!
Andrew and Emma