Berry Nice!

Last week we went to the lake. The weather had been sunny and breezy so I suggested that we take a picnic. Husband agreed so we set about our business of picking up our mostly weekly lunch from Five Guys and headed out to the lake.

I spied a mom with her two kids with plastic bags bending over picking stuff up off the ground in the bushes. At first I thought they were being awesome by picking up trash but I didn't see anything and they were still picking. My gears started turning.

So we ate our lunch, nearly being blown away by the strong gusts of wind. Afterwards, we started walking and as I was looking down, I found them. Wild blackberries. My mind wrestled with me for a moment. "Are they safe to eat?" Let's see... They're growing naturally in their season without the use of fertilizers, pesticides, steroids, chemicals, chemicals or other chemicals. What about bugs? What about them, flick them off. So I picked one, inspected it, popped it in my mouth, then proceeded to have a food-gasm. Yum!

I ran and took care of business... I threw away our picnic trash and found a bag. I started picking and just could not stop! Even Husband and Baby started picking them! Once we got home, I washed them and put them in the fridge.  I made every excuse to visit said fridge. The berries were gone the next day.

A week later, today, was a repeat of last week except no picnic. We planned to pick berries today and went out early to beat the heat. It was cloudy, a little moist from recent rains, a breezy. I was prepared with a decent bag and we just started picking. The berries this week were even better and bigger. The bushes grew and the berries ripened some more. I'm going to make a Danish in the morning with these berries. I am also sharing some with my co-worker. 

After our berry-picking, we went to the store. A single cup of blackberries is about 4 dollars! And I bet they taste horrible! Mine were free and in abundance and organic. I also saw some strawberries being grown in a planter at a restaurant. This has gotten me thinking... If they grow here naturally, can I grow them myself? I've been researching this and I plan on trying it when we get a house.  

All of this reminds me of when I was 8 or 9 years old. I was outside playing at the church I went to and I remember I picked blackberries and brought them home. My mom let me have some biscuit dough in my attempt at making a personal pie with the berries. It didn't turn out so good. I had no idea how to make a pie. I also remember picking berries at Aunt Carol's house too. Good times.

Go pick some wild berries!