season of blackberries

It is August so it is the season of blackberries here on the other side of the creek. Wild blackberry patches are starting to display their seasonal offerings. We have a patch of blackberries in the yard that has a pretty interesting history. First of all, they are not wild, they are a cultivated variety and the difference is apparent upon close inspection. They were here when we bought the place some 40 years ago. Somebody started this patch sometime in the distant past. We don't know who or when.

The blackberry patch was an afterthought as we were busy raising a busy family here. We would pick blackberries there every August, but the area didn't receive any gardening attention. The area was untended when we moved here and it stayed that way for many years. It was overgrown with other plants and weeds, and it got to the point where the blackberries started to lose the battle to other more aggressive species.

At some point in the last few years, Ally decided that she wanted to bring the blackberries back. It may be because she brews an annual batch of blackberry brandy every year and that more blackberries were needed. She weeded out the area, no small undertaking, and let nature take its course. Year after year the number of berries has increased.

I went by the blackberry patch the other day on the way to the compost pile. The number of berries on vines and branches was shocking. There are hundreds of them.

Now there are more berries available than we could ever possibly use as far as I can see. Allyn might want to offer some to some of our neighbors. She made a blackberry buckle the other night which was delicious. It will be interesting to see what Allyn has in mind for the blackberry brandy operation this year.

Full moon, the "Sturgeon" moon is tonight.