Foraging during a heatwave

Could it be the last?..

Who could have suspected that British summer actually exists? Well, there's this area of high pressure that's currently sitting pretty of the British Isles, and the Met Office is issuing heat wave weather warnings left and right.

No, I'm not complaining by the way. It's nice to be able to go out in the street wearing just one layer of clothing. I still keep my waterproof jacket in my bag, even though with no rain forecast for the next fortnight this is probably unnecessary. Just shows that the wounds inflicted on me by Scottish weather are too deep. They will probably never heal.

Consolation prize

Anyway, to the foraging report! This Saturday the forest was already dry like a cinder, but there were still a few mushrooms to be had under low-hanging branches and in the moss. Much smaller pickings than last time, and probably next week there will be none.

But fortunately something else was growing in the forest, almost as good as mushrooms. Wild strawberries got ripe and ready in all this heat. There are great masses of them on sandy dunes, and I collected at least half a kilogram in an hour. It's even harder work than small mushrooms, but the reward was worth it - see below!

Perfect Saturday night dessert: wild strawberries and single cream with a bit of sugar mixed in.