Posted by It’s easy to get sucked into the idea that you need to spend money to have fun. We’re bombarded with advertising telling us to spend our way to happiness. However, there are plenty of ways to have fun for free.
If I look back on my happiest memories, they weren’t the things I spent the most money on: lining the knots in trees with moss so the fairies would come back to find they had new carpets; eating sun-warmed alpine strawberries for the first time in my grandad’s garden; foraging for sorrel in the woods; sleeping in a hammock seeing a split screen sky with the sun rising over mountains while stars still twinkled in a velvet-black sky on the other side of the peaks; feeding lambs (I knew the farmer, I didn’t randomly pick a lamb to feed. That would be bad.); walks by the sea and along the canal; many hours of gardening both alone and at the community allotment. There’s a huge amount of free fun available with nature’s help. Here are a few ideas for things you could enjoy this weekend.
Go Foraging
I recommend foraging a lot – but that’s because it’s got so much going for it. It’s worth familiarising yourself with the Forager’s Code if you don’t already know it. Then you can get free food that’s loaded with vitamins, while enjoying time with nature and getting exercise. In springtime, you get to have nettle soup and pancakes; elderflower cordial, fritters and champagne; dandelion salad, wine and jelly; Jack-by-the-Hedge or wild garlic pesto, or simple ‘wilted’ leaves dressed with oil, salt and lemon; bramble leaf, clover and daisy tea: in autumn, blackberry and apple pie or crumble once you’ve foraged for fruit – along with jam to give you a taste of the season throughout the darker months (find out more about what’s in season year-round on the Woodland Trust website.
There’s food to be foraged easily from now until autumn (there’s still food to be gleaned in the winter but there’s less of it and other creatures probably need it more than you do. Hedgehogs don’t have access to foodbanks). You’ve got until September 29th to pick blackberries before the devil spits on them and renders them inedible, according to folklore. (An alternate reading is that blackberries are more likely to be maggoty by October.)
If you get lucky in the autumn, you may also find nuts – I found hazelnuts scattered over the pavement once, and looked up to discover a tree full of them. These can make a great addition to festive hampers – if you can resist eating them fresh from the tree.
Feed the Birds
Wherever you are, there are birds to feed. From ducks along the canal to blackbirds in the garden, a few handfuls of bird seed can lead to a joy-filled afternoon. Take photos of the birds to take a closer look or simply enjoy watching the birds as you feed them.
You can make a bird fat feeder by mixing oats and seeds together in a tin and topping up with cooking fat. Using leftover cooking fat to make bird feeders also helps avoid fatbergs in the sewers. Put a string through the middle to hang it from, and tie it to a tree well away from any cats. Then just sit back and watch the wildlife.
Make Nature Art
There’s more than just fruit to forage. Grasses and twigs, seed heads and leaves, feathers and flowers are great for crafting. You can make bouquets of grasses with seedpods and feathers; or pressed flower greetings cards; or spring wreaths
You can also make leaf rubbings, acorn dolls, apple dolls, herb garlands, pictures from pressed flowers and hundreds of other things. You don’t need a huge crafting stash: the contents of your recycling bin plus a glue gun, scissors, tape, twine, beads and paint or pens is enough for numerous crafts.
These are far from the only options when it comes to having free fun with nature. You can go on a woodland walk, search for RainbowBlooms (even if in people’s hanging baskets, window-boxes and gardens), build a bird feeder, go wild camping or have a BBQ, with hot chai or cocoa to keep out the chill after dark. Rather than spending money, spend time in nature – maybe taking friends or family too. The best things in life really can be free – and nature can be ‘the local park’ or an overgrown patch of wasteland – you don’t need to travel to ‘the countryside’. All you need to do is look for the wild around you.
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