A Taste of Blackberries

Berry picking
Does this count as a food post? I'm counting it as a gardening post. Went and picked the last of the raspberries and blackberries last night at my community garden.

Was going to get some more concord grapes also but someone had beaten me to them. I love the fact that concord grapes are named after the town just a few miles away from where I pick them. A few years back I made a concord grape pie which was a lot of fun only because everyone made such a fuss over the idea of a grape pie. It tastes kinda like cherry. The hard part is getting all the seeds out.

Anyhow, I just wanted to mention what a true pleasure it is to pick berries in the late summer evening. The sun shines on the berries, lighting them up like red and purple jewels, the bees and mosquitoes buzz around your head, the cicadas drone on, and it is very necessary to immediately eat the really soft, ripe berries because they just don't travel well and won't last. And wow, a really soft ripe berry eaten while you are standing in the summer sun is really a beautiful thing on the tongue. Some are still just a little tart, some have gone past the moment of ripeness and have a hint of vinegar, and some are just nothing but the straight taste of sugar and sunshine. Yeah, I love summer.