Let the Berries Begin



Red raspberries from the backyard.

It's that time again - berry season! The red raspberries have been abundant, but we usually pick and eat these since there are far more blackberries. Amazingly enough, there's no way you could eat all the blackberries ... although Oliver tries.

We pick and can the blackberries, turning them into pie filling. We use a recipe that includes a mysterious white powder we get from some Amish folks in upstate NY. Weird, huh? It's quite a process, but when you're eating fresh blackberry pie in January, it's worth it. We start by picking and freezing the berries as they ripen so that we have enough in a batch to can at least a dozen jars at a time. There's no way I'm canning every day or every other day! It's a good process and one we've worked to perfect over time, but it does mean some extra steps.

It goes like this:
Pick berries - possibly the hardest part. Thus, I leave it to Kevin.

Hand wash and spin dry.

Freeze berries by spreading them on cookie sheets. Once frozen, we bag them in gallon-sized bags.

Wait for an opportune time and then can like crazy.

The canning is fun, but you've got to thaw the berries, so the timing can be tricky. Although it's a lot of work, there's an amazing feeling that comes at the end of it all when you see the jars lined up, hot and popping, along the countertop.

Weeding



A seriously weedy bed of carrots.



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I find weeding therapeutic. It requires little thought, and my mind can wander to the thorny topics I often avoid. Although I'm never truly finished the garden weeding, cleaning up a patch or getting to the end of a row feels like a real accomplishment. For whatever reason, it feels to me more meaningful than paying the bills, sweeping the floor or folding socks. Maybe it's just being outside.

Weeding carrots, though, is tricky. The seedlings are so small, so delicate, so fragile. I can't help but see the metaphor for children. The early months and years when they're so susceptible to everything is when we may forget to weed, or do it indescriminately. And even with the greatest care and attention you'll often damage them, or sadly, lose one altogether.

Ka-Bloom!

We are about to go to full bloom in the backyard. The black-eyed Susans have started to open, and we've also got bee balm, daisies, phlox, and daylillies galore. The hydrangea and one of the clematis are still going at it, and we planted nastutiums in the raised bed this year, which are lovely orange, red and yellow. The riot of color out-paces the weeds, and I could spend hours in the swing watching birds enjoy the black raspberries.

Bluepink

Our hydrangea is going crazy this year - another garden plant that didn't mind the wet spring, I guess. The bush has spread quite a bit and is loaded with blooms, top to bottom. You can tell that our soil must sit right on the border of acid and base as no two flowers are the same color, and many are variegated. I suppose we could easily push it into solid blue, but I sort of like the delicate variations on blue and pink and purple. It can't make up it's mind, and I don't mind a bit.