Bird Table News

This morning I’ve eaten the same breakfast as the birds - straight off the bush. It was lovely.  The sun was high in the sky and the breeze was cool.  Eating fresh food outdoors for breakfast is the best.

It’s the time of year when the berries are ready to eat. Usually this means gardeners have covered their bushes to avoid the birds feasting on the berries.

I believe in sharing. The berries are needed by the birds.

We have a small blackcurrant bush and it’s berries are ripening. I picked them and ate the ripened ones straight from the bush. Delicious. For a moment I thought of our ancestors who were hunter gatherers and who would have needed berries like these much more than we do.

The hedgerows have an abundance of food. I remember years ago when I was a child we found it exciting to go hunting for blackcurrants on the hedgerow. Lovely, luscious pies were made for us from these berries. Then topped with custard or cream they were eaten by us in the same day. We took it all for granted. All the vegetables came from the garden. No supermarket costs there. We were like the wildlife, taking advantage of the food the seasons brought us.

Now a lot of people are immune and far away from the changing seasons. Farmers are close to the seasons and their work is ruled by the changing seasons and the weather the seasons bring. We take our food too much for granted. We take farmers too much for granted. Farmers should diversify they say. But why should farmers diversify? People who produce computers are not told to diversity. People who produce cars are not told to diversify. We need food more than we need computers or cars. Producing food is in important, technical job. There are about 60 million people on this island of ours who all need feeding. Farmers can do that job but are bogged down by low prices and a lack of understanding.

I’m not going to have a cup of tea and eat the rest of these blackcurrants. Have a nice day.

 

 

 

 

Tags: berries, blackcurrants, farmers