I’m learning about trees at the moment. My intermittent attempts to write about my travels around the country are often hampered by the fact that I don’t know what I’m looking at. An interesting piece of knowledge I have accidentally acquired is that there are parts of trees which can be plucked and eaten without seasoning or side effects.
Hawthorn hedges are everywhere in this country, and at this time of year many of them are weighed down with white blossom. These flowers are good for you. People used to eat them all the time – fill pies with them or consume them raw. Ray Mears probably still does. I do as well now, when nobody is looking.
The walk to the auction is about two miles and diverts from the roads at times, along footpaths around the backs of housing estates and alongside small lakes. I have a couple of opportunities to pluck a few flowers, give them a quick blow to remove any insects who probably have no desire to be victims of my new and adventurous eating habits, and then pop them into my mouth.
They taste a bit like raw cabbage, with a hint of smugness.
[...] now about six months since I began trying to learn more about trees, in the hope of increasing the depth of description I can put into my writing. I can now identify, [...]
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