Picking

Monday, September 1, 2008

Yesterday Jess and I went picking blackberries. She had asked if I wanted to do blueberries, but since I have a traumatic childhood memory of blueberry farm u-picks, I soundly rejected that idea. However, I was keen to go hunting for blackberries instead. We suspected we would find a large amount on the trail behind our apartments, and we were certainly right. We picked for an hour or so, managing to take home about 16 cups worth. I did bequeath Jess the title of "Superior Blackberry Picker" due to her picking a large amount fairly early on, but had to rescind the title when she made a novice move. My jeans happened to be stuck to a large blackberry vine so I went to gingerly pluck the thorns from my pants. However, Jess decided to come to my rescue and stepped on the vine so that I would be free. What she did not take into account is that vines of that size can do some damage, and she ended up putting a hole in my jeans. Seriously an amateur picker move. I was forced to tell her that she no longer held the crown for the day because of that little feat. I trust she has learned her lesson.

Since we have absolutely no immediate use for 16 cups of berries, we are laying them on plastic lined cookie sheets and freezing them. Once they are frozen, we put them into bags and stack them in the freezer. I have realized that I really can't do this with any more fruit this year. I have included a picture for you to see what the current state of our little freezer is. Behind what you see are even more bags of fruit. I kid you not.