Foraging For Elderberries
We went on a little adventure the other day. We headed to the end of our lane, along the creek bank, and through the corn field, to get to an elderberry bush. My dad told us the one down the road from them was ripe, so we were off to harvest our own elderberries.
This guy still had fun though. Perhaps we'll make the trek back next week. Perhaps.
The trip was worth it just for the puddle splashing. They spent a long time running back and forth through the puddles. We figured we'd be wearing the girls the whole time, so I just put their new boots on them. They started falling asleep on our way out of the field (no nap day and it was like 4pm), so we ended up taking them off to keep them awake. The boots washed up fine in the end, so no biggie.
If you look close, you can see our new truck in the background.
It really wasn't the easiest hike we've been on. The creek bank was so sloped and obviously it isn't fun having corn leaves all but slice your face off. However, as someone who spent a large portion of her childhood exploring the creek, I was excited for Mason to have his first creek adventure.
We finally made it to the elderberries! But wait.. they were still green. Ripe elderberries are a dark purple/black color. Bummer.
This guy still had fun though. Perhaps we'll make the trek back next week. Perhaps.
Introducing Elliot to the sweet taste of clover flowers.
The trip was worth it just for the puddle splashing. They spent a long time running back and forth through the puddles. We figured we'd be wearing the girls the whole time, so I just put their new boots on them. They started falling asleep on our way out of the field (no nap day and it was like 4pm), so we ended up taking them off to keep them awake. The boots washed up fine in the end, so no biggie.
Their identical-ness showing in this photo.
Their day pretty much went downhill from here..
We've got our eyes on another bush my dad pointed out to us alongside a road. Hoping to stop and pick a few ripe ones. Why the heck do we want elderberries so bad? To make syrup! Elderberry syrup is great for cold and flu season and store bought bottles of the stuff are really quite expensive. I've found some recipes {here} and {here} that I want to try. They seem easy enough!
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Have you ever made elderberry syrup? How'd it turn out? Want to share your recipe?
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