Blackberry Picking

Blackberries!

 I can't even describe the joy it gave me to pick and eat blackberries. They grew everywhere. Along the freeways, in the national parks, in parking lots, and always more than enough to harvest and eat.

If we'd had to, we  could have just bought a few tubs of yogurt and survived the whole trip on  blackberry parfait.

In the more public areas, some were harder to reach, and they were very thorny, so blackberry picking wasn't without peril.  I wished I had some heavy gloves and fancy tools so I could reach them all, but it was amazing how abundant they are, far more than could ever be totally consumed. It was not uncommon to see people on the side of the freeway picking them. Even so, I think the largest consumers of blackberries are probably the birds.

 

The kids favorite "Daddy Trick"

It's up...

Can he catch it in his mouth?

Victorious!

It's amazing how much better ripe blackberries on the vine taste. So sweet, and not bitter like those in the store. By the end of our trip, I learned how to tell which ones were the ripest and sweetest. They would amost fall in your hand without much of a tug, and the seed pods were bulgy and not tight.

Deliciousness!