"You've got to go out on a limb sometimes because that's where the fruit is."

Over the past few weeks we have become a family of scrumpers, foraging for food wherever we can find it. It all started when Mrs M took us to an apple tree not far from where she used to live, turns out though that there are literally apple trees everywhere, I've just never paid much attention until now.

So armed with our supermarket hessian bags or apple sacks as they have now become we have been Investigating all over and have been lucky enough to have picked around 10 large bags of various kinds of the juicy treat (three of those this morning).

The boys have really been getting involved and our foraging exploits have been teaching them a valuable lesson in sustainability. It's also great for teaching them to respect the food that they eat (plus it always tastes that little bit better when you know you have picked it yourself).

It's not just apples that have been getting all our attention though. We've found plums and pears in a derelict monastery orchard which was a great find, elderberries, hazelnuts and buckets of blackberries (which you can find everywhere this time of year). We've definitely taken full advantage of our surrounding area and had lots of fun in the process. If people could see Mrs M riding around on my shoulders, us giggling like teenagers while she reaches for apples they would think we were hilarious.

Recently Mrs M has gone into her usual preparation for hibernation mode, which she does every year for winter, so our new found love of foraging means that there are plenty of pies in the freezer ready for thoring out, bags of peeled and cored apples for winter cooking, not to mention a lovely selection of chutneys and jams. Mrs M's squirrel like tendencies are adorable and she really looks after me and the boys, we will always be eternally greatful for what she does for us. We're a great team and doing everything as a family is so important, it keeps us close. We will continue to forage while the fruit is available and will definitely be more prepared for next years harvest.