Sunday, October 5, 2014
A red letter day
Sunday October 5th 2014 is now a landmark. We’ve been waiting for them to arrive for several years, having seen them in large numbers in Ceredigion and as far east as Brecon.
We’ve each thought on a number of occasions that we’ve seen them here in the lower Rhymney Valley but I haven’t been totally convinced.
This afternoon, however, I was left in no doubt: red kites have reached us at last.
I was walking back down from Mynnydd Y Grug and saw about a dozen birds of prey soaring on a thermal ahead of me. At first I was surprised to see so many buzzards at once but then realised, after one glided about eight feet over my head, that at least eight of them were Red Kites.
They really are elegant birds and I'm delighted to see them here as they very nearly were extinct in Wales in the 1980s. I recall the SAS were guarding a rare nest of them at one stage as a part of their training (For the benefit of Mr Kite, the headline read).
But their arrival comes with a tinge of concern: friends in Aberarth, where red kites are commonly seen in groups of a dozen or more, say they no longer see buzzards.
It may be that, although the birds I watched on the thermal seemed totally at ease with each other, the kites may be outcompeting the resident raptors and perhaps, in a few years time, we'll be calling on the SAS to guard the buzzards' nests.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
A bumper year for field mushrooms
Word got out early in August, that we were in the midst of a bumper season for field mushrooms, Agaricus campestris. And by the time I got to the meadow on the side of the valley below us, it was evidently in full swing.
The white caps of the freshly emerged mushrooms were everywhere. Alongside the path at the bottom of the field they were conveniently plentiful.
I ventured out half-a-dozen times over the course of three weeks. I gathered as much as 2lbs (900g) of mushrooms in one picking at their peak and probably 8lbs (3.5kg) over all. By the time the fourth week of August began, the season was drawing to a close.
The best time to collect them is in the morning. They are freshest then and less likely to be attacked by flies. Also, the cows in the field, having been sleeping during the night, have had less time to trample them.
One thing to bear in mind is that the wild field mushrooms are quick to deteriorate once picked. I try to use them up that day, which meant repeatedly breakfasting on Agaricus campestris-on-toast. You can have too much of a good thing.
I also made a pretty good mushroom and tarragon spread. Click here for the wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe.
The white caps of the freshly emerged mushrooms were everywhere. Alongside the path at the bottom of the field they were conveniently plentiful.
I ventured out half-a-dozen times over the course of three weeks. I gathered as much as 2lbs (900g) of mushrooms in one picking at their peak and probably 8lbs (3.5kg) over all. By the time the fourth week of August began, the season was drawing to a close.
The best time to collect them is in the morning. They are freshest then and less likely to be attacked by flies. Also, the cows in the field, having been sleeping during the night, have had less time to trample them.
One thing to bear in mind is that the wild field mushrooms are quick to deteriorate once picked. I try to use them up that day, which meant repeatedly breakfasting on Agaricus campestris-on-toast. You can have too much of a good thing.
I also made a pretty good mushroom and tarragon spread. Click here for the wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe.
A bumper year for field mushrooms
Word got out early in August, that we were in the midst of a bumper season for field mushrooms, Agaricus campestris. And by the time I got to the meadow on the side of the valley below us, it was evidently in full swing.
The white caps of the freshly emerged mushrooms were everywhere. Alongside the path at the bottom of the field they were conveniently plentiful.
I ventured out half-a-dozen times over the course of three weeks. I gathered as much as 2lbs (900g) of mushrooms in one picking at their peak and probably 8lbs (3.5kg) over all. By the time the fourth week of August began, the season was drawing to a close.
The best time to collect them is in the morning. They are freshest then and less likely to be attacked by flies. Also, the cows in the field, having been sleeping during the night, have had less time to trample them.
One thing to bear in mind is that the wild field mushrooms are quick to deteriorate once picked. I try to use them up that day, which meant repeatedly breakfasting on Agaricus campestris-on-toast. You can have too much of a good thing.
I also made a very good mushroom and tarragon spread. Click here for the wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe.
The white caps of the freshly emerged mushrooms were everywhere. Alongside the path at the bottom of the field they were conveniently plentiful.
I ventured out half-a-dozen times over the course of three weeks. I gathered as much as 2lbs (900g) of mushrooms in one picking at their peak and probably 8lbs (3.5kg) over all. By the time the fourth week of August began, the season was drawing to a close.
The best time to collect them is in the morning. They are freshest then and less likely to be attacked by flies. Also, the cows in the field, having been sleeping during the night, have had less time to trample them.
One thing to bear in mind is that the wild field mushrooms are quick to deteriorate once picked. I try to use them up that day, which meant repeatedly breakfasting on Agaricus campestris-on-toast. You can have too much of a good thing.
I also made a very good mushroom and tarragon spread. Click here for the wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe.
Wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe
Here's a great recipe I adapted from several others to use up a plethora of wild mushrooms, that is, field mushrooms or Agaricus campestris.
I've only tried it with this moderately falvoursome species but suppose other varieties could be successfully substituted.
It seems mushroom and tarragon compliment each other well as there are loads of soup recipes online too.
50g butter or olive-oil-based spread
2 shallots
1 small leek
2 garlic cloves
200g wild mushrooms
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp crème fraîche
3 tbsp fresh tarragon (or 1.5 tbsp dried)
Method
Melt the butter or spread in a large frying pan. Finely chop the shallots, leek and garlic, then gently fry for 5 minutes or until soft.
Finely chop the mushrooms, add them to the pan. Turn up the heat a little and add a little extra butter if they soak up all the oil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are tender.
Add the mustard and crème fraiche plus a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more.
Finely chop the fresh tarragon and stir in. Don’t cook any further as it will reduce the tarragon flavour.
Once cool, it can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It goes well with toast or breadsticks. Enjoy!
I've only tried it with this moderately falvoursome species but suppose other varieties could be successfully substituted.
It seems mushroom and tarragon compliment each other well as there are loads of soup recipes online too.
Mushroom and tarragon pate
Ingredients50g butter or olive-oil-based spread
2 shallots
1 small leek
2 garlic cloves
200g wild mushrooms
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp crème fraîche
3 tbsp fresh tarragon (or 1.5 tbsp dried)
Method
Melt the butter or spread in a large frying pan. Finely chop the shallots, leek and garlic, then gently fry for 5 minutes or until soft.
Finely chop the mushrooms, add them to the pan. Turn up the heat a little and add a little extra butter if they soak up all the oil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are tender.
Add the mustard and crème fraiche plus a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more.
Finely chop the fresh tarragon and stir in. Don’t cook any further as it will reduce the tarragon flavour.
Once cool, it can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It goes well with toast or breadsticks. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Five swarms in two weeks
The mild winter has left the five beehives with strong colonies and with some half decent weather they’ve been able to fly, collect nectar and pollen and breed.
So much so that these strong colonies have obviously been keen to divide and it looks as if each one has swarmed in the last two weeks.
Two swarms have been in an oak tree just 20 feet from the apiary, a third in an ornamental Korean Fir on one side of it, the fourth in a hawthorn on the other side of it. Today, the fifth went the other way and flew up into the hedge above the hive from which it came.
There are still plenty of bees in the original hives, though it is not always possible to tell which have swarmed without a closer inspection. But with four of the fives swarms safely collected, we’re now more than fully stocked with bees for what could be a very productive summer.
So much so that these strong colonies have obviously been keen to divide and it looks as if each one has swarmed in the last two weeks.
Two swarms have been in an oak tree just 20 feet from the apiary, a third in an ornamental Korean Fir on one side of it, the fourth in a hawthorn on the other side of it. Today, the fifth went the other way and flew up into the hedge above the hive from which it came.
There are still plenty of bees in the original hives, though it is not always possible to tell which have swarmed without a closer inspection. But with four of the fives swarms safely collected, we’re now more than fully stocked with bees for what could be a very productive summer.
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