BLACKBERRIES

Sun high, almost noon,

Golden, windless, caressing,

Hat, shoes, long sleeves, pants.
 

Wood’s edge briar patch

Hidden treasures to be found,

Snakes, critters abound.
 

Fingertips purple,

Teeth studded with remains,

Berry tart, delight.
 

Tired, itchy, sweaty,

Fading sun, dreaming postponed,

Tomorrow, more work.
 

 

Have you ever been blackberry picking?  It can be an intimidating experience.  They are un-pruned, reaching out, grabbing you. 

Scratching like a wild cat. 

 

Then you have the mosquitoes looking for their free lunch.  Everyone says use the bug spray.  You are already wearing sun screen for the sun. Geesh, by the time you are finished you're an oil slick.  You have so many clothes on to protect you.  You can't move and the Sun is pounding down on you.

 

Why would you subject yourself to this?  The first purple orb you see which is so purple it is black, you pop it into your mouth.  The rain the day before plumped all the little orbs which make up the blackberry.  Do you have any idea how good that sun warmed berry tastes? 

 

It's indescribable. It keeps you in that patch picking, wanting to fill the waiting containers. Always watching the ground at your feet.  Why would you watch the ground?  Under all that foliage there are beasties who slither around.  They don't like blackberries but they love the critters who enjoy them (they are also seeking relief from the hot sun). 

 

You have the possums, deer, raccoons, and skunks (which have gone to bed for the day).  I have encountered a squirrel scampering through the upper canes indulging in dessert.  They are all too large for the slithering kind to eat.  There are the mice and rabbits which seem to enjoy sweet treats  too.  They are just the right size for black snakes and copperheads.

 

There is the occasional garter snake indulging on the lizards who have taken refuge from the sun.  I pray I see a Prairie King snake.  They will eat other snakes.  They are a calm snake, they don't act defensive, startling you.

 

One of the strangest sights I have seen in the patch was one I heard before I saw it. It was a hummingbird.  It flew inches from my face and stuck his beak in one of the berries and slacked his thirst.  Bird do have a yearning for berries.  I just never thought of a hummer indulging.  I should have though,  the woodpeckers drink regularly from the humming bird feeder. 

 

The berries aren't the only reward picking Blackberries.

I picked 10 pounds yesterday.

 

Take time to enjoy the fruits of nature.

 

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com
A blog mostly about quilting,

but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,
A tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.
Blog about dolls.

BLOCK OF THE MONTH BLOGS

COMING SOON

"A MYSTERY IN THE MAKING"

A mystery quilt designed with the novice in mind. 

 

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/

New blogs about the vegetables we have been starting.

blogs about the wildflowers on our farm
Organic methods we use, some cooking and some poetry
Blogs about seed sprouting.

Tutorial on planting Strawberries.

 

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.
Please do not use without permission.