Taste The Landscape.
Greetings from Calderdale in June, possibly the loveliest month for verdancy in nature, or do you have a different favourite?
Moving through landscape in the fullness of summer, there’s the potential for sensory overload in a good way. This is especially true if you are walking alone as without the distraction of conversation with a companion, your experience of place is even more intense
The memory of the sights, sounds, scents and feel of that outdoor space stay with you, which can be helpful when you feel cooped up in a city or spending too many days indoors through illness or work. When you recall the unmistakeable drumming of woodpeckers or the astringent odour of warm pine sap, you can easily let yourself be transported back to their habitat.
And have you ever tried tasting the landscape? A fun way of imprinting a space in your memory can be had by sampling the odd flower of say Gorse or a leaf of wild Mint growing along the way.
I tried a pinch of tiny florets from this elder tree the other day. Sadly my sense of smell/taste has been dulled by hay fever so is currently unreliable but I registered a faint pleasant taste similar to Elderflower cordial, unsurprisingly!
It always amazes me how few people stop to eat blackberries or bilberries in the late summer. A generous gift of nature I find them irresistible. (It goes without saying to only eat what you know to be safely edible).
The poet Robert Burns apparently was partial to a wild moorland tea made from heather tops and the leaves of bilberry, blackberry and thyme. I like the idea of this and want to try it but I’m not sure the reality could compete with a nice cup of Assam. What do you think? I guess that even if things taste weird or vile, trying them once would certainly be memorable!