At the end of the summer when all the other berries have long ripened, before the apples grow red hanging from their branches on the trees, these deep purple jewels make their appearance. Under the shade of the prickly vines which wrap around the alders, they congregate in small cathedrals of their own making. Away from sight, away from sunlight, they gather their tart sweetness from earth's moisture. Quietly and with no fanfare, these glistening plump candy grow heavier in succulence waiting to be discovered and consumed. Or not! Maybe they don't want to be found. Maybe they are just fine ripening and surrendering their goodness back into the hallowed earth, letting their juice seep back to where it originallycame from. Far from showy, they remain protected behind scratchy stinging burrs and thorns in places where no paths have been tramped down. Perhaps they are quite content in their quiet role in nature....
It is only the brave explorer, who chooses to don full body covering, half a can of bug spray, and boots to muck about in who will forge into unchartered territory to enjoy these mouth watering treats freshly picked off the vines. And it is the brave blackberry lover, scratched up and bug bitten in their efforts to find the perfect offering who knows where these reverential jewels dwell who knows the quiet untouched groves they settle in.
In a quiet whisper, so as not to disturb their beauty, the gatherer tugs tenderly on the discovered jewel allowing it to slip gracefully into her hand and gently into her mouth letting its skin bursting fragrance awaken her taste buds.
All good things come to those who wait.
This week's photo theme is Edible. For most mouth watering offerings, check out Carmi's blog.
This week's photo theme is Edible. For most mouth watering offerings, check out Carmi's blog.
5 comments:
These are beautiful photos. When I lived in the Pacific Northwest we used to pick lots of blackberries - we'd go out in the country for them, but truth be told, they grew just as wildly in vacant lots near our Central District Seattle house. Yum! Jam, wine, pies, cobbler!
Here in LA, some people actually cultivate blackberries. I say - What?
My very, very favourite fruits! We used to do so much blackberrying, both as children, and later as a young married wife. Made the pennies go round marvellously. Blackberry and apple jam! Mmmm!
g....It was on the west coast of Canada (Vancouver Island) where I first encountered blackberries. We didn't have them growing where I grew up. So, I was very pleased to see them again when we moved out to the Maritimes. I have fond memories of picking them with my Mother in Law at the end of the summer in Nova Scotia. It was the area she spent her childhood days, so she knew the hidden places where the berries grew. She also taught me how to make jam.
Gilly....I love them too....so tasty arent they? I'm on my last jar of blackberry jam, so I hope I can get out there again this summer with the friend I was with when I took these photos last summer....
The Maritimes is a great place for all berries....and I love them all. Plentiful and wonderful.... My husband's Uncle Max who has since passed away used to have 200 acres of blueberries! And all around my neighbourhood are raspberries ready to be plucked.
Strawberries...cranberries....all here. :)
Funny how I use a BlackBerry every day, but for the life of me I can't recall ever having eaten any. I've got to change that, because your pictures of them make me want to reach right through my screen and grab a handful. Or two.
Of course, it's your beautifully worded description of how they came to be, and how they came to be discovered, that truly makes the photos shine. Even when you're not ostensibly writing poetry, you in fact are. How do you DO that?
Carmi...I have seen them recently at the grocery store, but I can't imagine ever buying any when they are so plentiful in the summer. It somehow seems against the rules or something....I feel the same way about blueberries...I'll buy them at the market or the local produce stand, but never at the grocery store. :)
My writing...? this one was easy to write actually. I had written a poem about blackberry picking a couple of years ago and was trying to conjure up the same word images from that...
Most of the time, I honestly don't know where the stuff comes from. I'm often only the vessel and it comes from a stream in my imagination...I just have to channel it or something and it comes.
I don't know if the grocery ones taste the same, but pick some up the next time you're there. :)
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