Today is the first day of summer! Normally we have a little cold snap around the time that the blackberries bloom. Since they are about a month late I don't see a cold snap in sight. Temperature yesterday was in the 90's.
Although it does look like a promising harvest.
They are loving this wet weather though!
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
We've got wild blackberries or some sort of berry alongside my asparagus that was covered with blossoms this year.. It is going to be loaded like I've never seen them loaded this heavily before. They're sour though.. not a sweet berry on the plant in the pat.. maybe that'll change too. ;) I figure I'll make jelly with em.. they're not good for much else.
ReplyDeleteThese are my thornless tame blackberries. I no longer pick the wild berries...those ticks are thick around here and for some reason tick bites make horrible sores on me! I wonder if you can be allergic to tick venom?
DeleteI picked my first blackberries this week. I'm not that far south of you, just across the line in northwest Arkansas. I don't think I'll have as many as I have in the past though, the drought was very hard on my vines.
ReplyDeleteA few hundred miles can really make a difference and we had some really cold weather late in the season. The drought was hard on my vines also. The older vines fared better than the younger ones. I guess better established with more roots.
DeleteSame here! Since only the new canes set fruit we get a nice harvest every other year, fine by me. They are wild (and grow like weeds literally)and I do nothing to tend them. Normally I have to hike a bit when it is time to pick but this year there are TONS at the edges of the pastures nearest home sparing me the hike. This year I have had to face up to the fact that the bad back is now a daily issue. In the past it was up and down but down days are here to stay so I am now resigned to wearing my brace, setting up only a small garden (about a quarter the size as before), insisting on help from the grown kids in getting it going and mulched since my dear husband's knee is as bad as my back (and he still does the harness race horses). But, I am also more aware of the bounty set before me with no effort on my part: the black caps and elderberries will provide for nice holiday gifts as well as eating as will the herbs. I have wanted elderberries for years after learning of their medicinal use but could not find any, now they have sprung up all over the place here. I even found a patch of wild asparagus(this land has been farmed for hundreds of years, literally). As my wise mother-in-law has always said "you can only do the best you can do".I have been blessed by her wisdom as we age, not always gracefully I must admit. (and at age 86 she is still going strong, taking her daily mile walk to church everyday when the weather cooperates. She is a city girl, giving truth to the saying of "bloom where you are planted"). And I am thankful for your blog, a part of my morning ritual with my coffee. You folks have many of our same issues and I am grateful for the time you take to keep the blog going.
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