It’s illegal to forage in the Forest for nearly everything, but windfalls, for me, don’t count. Here, on the gloriously named Zevenschactenweg, between La Belle Étole and Raafeikenweg there’s a plenty for the taking.
High in pectin, these are needed for hedgerow jellies. Rowan berries and haws abound and some elderberries remain.
They are native to our Forest and should be celebrated. Other patches survive. In his 𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑎 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒̂𝑡 𝑑𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑠, 1905, Sander Pierron noted “𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑒𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑒́𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑙𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒̂𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒”. I shall expand on the arse-fruit, the Medlar, this weekend and tell where their Mountain is.