Blackberry picking – Simply HYGGE

I have always appreciated living in a country where you get the feel of the 4 seasons. I must admit that I am not always fond of winter, as it is very long here, but I always look forward to  autumn; sweater weather, hot drinks, woolly socks and leaves falling off trees. When the weather turns it is important to be active, and use the nice days to be out and about as much as possible, because the winter (in this country) brings a lot of days where you have to be inside.
Around the corner from where we live, are hedgerows full of ripe blackberries. I have always loved picking fruit and berries, as there is nothing more hyggeligt than picking your own fruit, and then making it into something yummy later.

We tend to wait until most of the berries are ripe, and then we come armed with buckets or bowls to collect the berries. If you have smaller children, you could give them a pair of gardening gloves to protect from the thorny bushes. I would recommend that you make sure you ‘hold down’ the larger branches, as they are very thorny, and also keep a look out for bees, as they too like the sweet berries. I suggest you wear trousers, wellies or trainers, as well as long sleeved tops (not knitwear or you could get stuck for a long time). Long hair is best worn in ponytails. The children probably end up eating more fruit than they pick, but that’s part of the charm. When you get back home, pick any green bits, thorns, and branches of the berries, and leave to soak in cold water for 15 mins. Drain and leave to dry on kitchen towel. If you are not using the berries straight away, you need to freeze them, as they will go mouldy very fast.

Enjoy and keep an eye out, as I will be posting my easy blackberry crumble recipe soon! In these pictures, you’ll notice that we weren’t dressed  for the occasion, as it was the first time we went, but we sure learned our lesson 🙂