Twice during the long weekend Tim and I donned long-sleeved shirts and shoes with socks (I'm barefoot as much as possible in the summer) to brave the thorns of the blackberry patch.
Tim loves blackberries on his granola every morning so we fill the freezer. He's willing to make the effort to get the very best berries - those high up, where the sun sweetens them first. A number of people wandering by commented on what a brilliant idea it was to bring a ladder.
"Our" blackberry patch is just steps from the ocean, at the end of a beach access. A steady stream of people wandered by yesterday afternoon: to walk their dogs, to sit on a bench and read, to wander the rocky high tide line.
We filled our buckets, then took a short stroll on the beach, enjoying the late afternoon sun - it's warm here these days!
The berries are all tucked away in the freezer - ready for sprinkling on cereal or for baking into muffins and cobblers. This morning I'm drying tomatoes and cherries in my dehydrator. Do you squirrel away food for the winter?
I'm squirrelling away here, Lorrie. Blackberries are all in the freezer, and now my one and only Courgette plant has decided to go mad and produce lots of last minute courgettes (zucchini).
ReplyDeleteSo it's on with the Ratatouille!
What a fabulous haul you got from the bramble hedge.
ReplyDeleteI love foraging along the country lanes for blackberries, but the rain has meant that this year there won't be a good crop for us.
Hello Lorrie,
ReplyDeleteThey are part of my daily breakfast mixed with other berries...Love them!
Gabriela
They look great! I am not willing to go to such lengths for them; therefore, I don't share the delights. They sure look tasty. I'll have to settle for a bottle of purchased jam. Your hubby is a smart guy...whoever thinks of a ladder?
ReplyDeleteIf anyone deserves some summer weather it's you folks. Hope it lasts and lasts.
Your blackberry harvest is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Germany ( via La Pouyette)
♥ Franka
I'm drooling... nothing beats fresh, sun warmed blackberries!
ReplyDeleteI remember the first experience I had picking blackberries. I came away scratched up, but jubliant over the yummiest berries ever.
I love blackberries but mine have to coem from the store, as there are no bushes in my area to pick them from. Your blackberry bushes are located ina beautiful area, Lorrie!
ReplyDeleteYes, we squirrel away the treasures of summer. It tomatoes right now, but I put them in jars. Those berries will be very tasty in the middle of the winter.
ReplyDeleteLorrie,
ReplyDeleteThe blackberries look wonderful. I imagine they may taste even better on a cold winter day in some fresh, hot muffins!
-Karen
Seriously, you get to pick blackberries by the ocean?! Just sounds so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteNope...no squirreling away here. I do keep blueberries in the freezer tho! But they hardly last through the winter. Y'all are so blessed to live by the beach and close to those bushes!!!
ReplyDeleteSo far I have bags of blueberries and beans. I'll have to pick enough blackberries to freeze some - so far they've just been eaten as is!
ReplyDeleteFancy picking blackberries right next to that lovely beach - bliss! Yes indeed we do squirrel away things for the winter wherever possible - it's in our genes to do so I think!
ReplyDeleteI come from a long line of LDS (Mormon) women. Food storage is in the blood! I bottle pears, peaches, apples, & tomatoes. Freeze corn and jams. Dried plums are a personal fave.
ReplyDeleteIt's that time of year.
Those blackberries look so yummy. And will bring a taste of summer to winter mornings.
ReplyDeleteWe squirrel away food for the winter too. I've been hitting the farmers' market and have canned peaches, corn (froze some too) and green beans. We also dehydrate the herbs we grow in our little gardens in the backyard. We have mushrooms in the dehydrator today, bought on sale at Krogers.
Blackberries - my absolute favorite ones!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I used to go to the forests to collect them. Not many of the wild ones here this year because of the drought, sadly enough!
Lovely images, Lorrie!
karin
I wish I had a freezer full of blackberries. I love the too but they grow in woodsy areas with terrible briars AND SNAKES!
ReplyDeleteDelicious. Our wild Blackberries have been so abundant this year due to warm spring and wet summer.
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