blackberries

We are on the Sunshine Coast, visiting with Andy's brother Dave and his wife Pam. Their home here is just beautiful. We are having a lovely time, exploring, swimming, cooking, eating and lounging and enjoying the beautiful view out over the ocean.

On Friday evening we went out for a walk after supper. We brought a bowl and picked blackberries along the way. Blackberry bushes are fierce, with thousands of slanted prickles. People try to keep them cut back, so you often have to perch on the side of a hill, or wade into the brush to get to the good berries. Then you have to find the ripe ones: All of the berries are black, but the ripe ones come off the bush easily. The sour ones hang on tight. So you have to shake hands with 50 blackberries to pick 20 good ones.

Here are some photos of our blackberry adventure, which began around 7:30pm and ended as the light was failing just around 9.

The reward? A brimming bowl of late summer sweetness. We gobbled them Saturday morning with our breakfasts.

question: do you pick blackberries?

mompoet - shaking hands with summer