Sunday marked the start of Autumn and the start of the blackberry season. We decided that as it was such a beautiful day we would take a picnic, visit yet another Abby and pick blackberries. They are abundant this year, the brambles are laden, in just under an hour we had picked over ten pounds, four and a half of these will be used to make Blackberry wine, the rest is for Bramble jelly.
On our return home the berries were washed and weighed to the appropriate amounts and then popped into the freezer, freezing the fruit first makes it easier to extract all the juice, so tomorrow I will set to, making the jelly and getting the wine started.
The decision to start wine making again was as a result of the friends that had come to stay, once they had tasted the Elderflower Champagne that we had made they didn't want any of the shop bought wine! So wine making it is.
We picnicked on the shores of lake Urlaur on home made Cornish pasties and salad, lovely.
Lake Urlaur in is in Co Mayo, just, and has the ruins of the Abbey that we had wanted to visit, built in 1430 it was raised by Cromwell in 1654,
an interesting building in a wonderful setting but more interesting than the building are the legends associated with the Abbey.
It certainly has a 'feel' to the place and I doubt it will become a favourite place to visit.
Our Irish Heritage | Places | 'The Friars of Urlaur' | & the power of chastity
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The first of the main crop potatoes have now been lifted, from one row we estimate there are 80lb of spuds and we have another eight rows to lift, we will not go short of potatoes this year and hopefully we should be able to save enough to use as seed potatoes next year.
My Mum and I spent several pleasant hours today picking Blackberries on the forest lane. Just short of 4 kilos. Free food from the hedgerow...love it!
ReplyDeleteI can think of nothing better, a warm day and food for free, glad you managed to get a good picking, are they for jelly or wine? Have ordered the wine yeasts.
DeleteIreland looks so lovely. Great potatoes too!
ReplyDeleteYes Ireland is a beautiful country and full of history. We are very pleased with the potatoes although we weren't expecting such a bumper crop, not too sure what we will do with them all.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I call a barrow load of spuds! I have just started on my Sarpo Mira and they are looking as good.
ReplyDeleteOoooh those blackberries look really good. I am already missing the elderflower wine. Tried some elderflower beer in a real ale pub in Norwich. It was alright but the elderflower champagne was amazing!
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