The tall bank upland of our beach shelters large expanses of wild blackberry bushes. This morning I picked a few of the ripe ones (still too early for a full crop) and was reminded of a childhood pleasure. I grew up in a small beach town. Our house was in a semi-rural area with plenty of "forests" for kids to explore. These wild areas weren't large, in retrospect. Just undeveloped portions of lots, really. I recall how I loved to pick the blackberries. This required braving the nasty thorns. Still I would grab a mason jar from the kitchen, fill it with berries and then add in a spoonful of sugar and moosh it all up. Elixir of the Gods.
Another childhood frequent experience was watching and listening to honeybees. They were everywhere. Never bothering me, just going about their business on the flowers and shrubs. Now it is rare for me to see a honeybee. I have plenty of bumble-bees; you know, the big fuzzy yellow and black bees. And occasionally I will see what I think is a mason bee. They look more like a bee-fly cross. Good pollinators, nevertheless. But those work-horse honeybees are gone.
I think it is hard to beat the taste of fresh, unaltered blackberries. But, if you must cook them , then by all means bake up a cobbler. Or, how about a blackberry Pana Cotta. Now that's a cool summer treat. ps all pics courtesy of Flickr.
1 comment:
Blackberries feature prominently in some of my favorite childhood memories, too. I've always been fortunate to live somewhere with lots of berries. We have a lovely, huge blackberry-type down here called a dew berry. Basically, it's just a monstrous, Texas-sized blackberry.
I don't see nearly as many bees these days, either. I've heard some disturbing reports on NPR about the disappearance of the common honey bee. It could be really devestating for our crops in the future.
On a side note, my father-in-law used to be a beekeeper. His fed off the magnolia trees in their area in Houston. I never had the opportunity to taste it, but everyone says it was the most fragrant, special honey. Doesn't that sound nice? I always want to try some of the artisinal honeys I see, but they're exorbitant. And, I sure like plain old honey, so I guess I'll stick to that.
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