This could be the title of EVERY blog, to be honest! We’re always out, exploring the countrylanes that we love so much. But this Saturday I rode out to Craigievar, an area that somehow always feels further, wider and deeper inland than other places. I had a mission: to view a wee housie that was for sale… Well, it is officially “under offer” so all we can do is dream of ‘what could have been’, but dreaming is free and thoroughly enjoyable! The housie is called ‘Craigievar Cottage’ and is sitting amongst trees and agricultural land:
Round the back is enough land for the two of us to grow all of our own vegetables, plant an orchard, and keep a small flock of chickens happy. Self-sufficiency is something we aim for, but for the moment we’re bound to Aberdeen – so I’ve put my hopes on getting to the top of the allotment waiting list this year.
Cycling back home, over the Clash, the wind was in my back and the sun upon my face. The midday winter sky was crisp and blue. As I plummeted down the road into Tornaveen, my heart felt so full of joy that I feared it would overflow!
As intense as my joy, so was my sorrow when I found the curlew (see yesterday’s post). I still see her wide open eye before me. Sweet little soul, be at peace.
Today we braced the wind together for a shorter ride to Kintore. We hadn’t even left the city boundary when we found oyster mushrooms:
They were on pollarded willow trees, with more to come if we get some rain. We took what we needed for a nice pan of soup:
We had a picnic at the standing stones above Blackburn. The field in front of us had barley in it, like it did during the Spring of 2020. I’ll always associate that spot with the first Lockdown, when we cycled on empty roads and it didn’t rain for many weeks. I was worried about the barley, then. Thinking that it wouldn’t survive the drought. But it did, it grew wonderfully big and strong. And so did we. At times I thought the Lockdown would never end, but we got through it.
So ends January – I hope it’s been a good month for you. The days are getting longer now, and pretty soon there will be more edible things to forage. I’m looking forward to it!
The healthy forager 