Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Gathering Berries



Raspberries! They used to be my second favorite..with Strawberries taking the lead. Then Strawberries had to bite the dust when I became allergic to them. It was them or me..so I decided life without strawberries was OK. Sometimes during shortcake season..I get a little cranky. No more fresh strawberries on my toast in the morning, no bowls of berries for lunch, no freshly made Strawberry Jam, and no more fresh strawberry pies. Sometimes I think I am still grieving for those berries.. I walk by the containers of Strawberries in the grocery store and just inhale their essence...sometimes I just stare at them and I can imagine how they taste. I do taste them in my dreams..chocolate covered strawberries in your dreams have no calories or ill effects. Raspberries are now my number one favorite non lethal berry.
Yesterday, we headed over to one of my cousins. they started a Raspberry pickin' patch..so far they are only open to relatives and neighbors. The berries are wonderful, I love hunting and gathering..well the gathering part anyway.

My cousin and his wife have eight children, the oldest might be ten years old. When we drove into their yard, the children came out of the gardens one by one, and kept coming.. Far Guy said "How many kids do they have again? " He swore that there were way more than eight. They all had their rows that they had been weeding in the garden..onions and corn were the focus for the morning. These children of my cousins are very well behaved, they call their mother "Ma"..she speaks to the children softly, and they listen. She does not raise her voice, her phrases are sprinkled with please, yes, thank yous, good job and would yous. She is like a mother hen gathering those chicks around her seeing to their needs. It was heartwarming to watch. I felt like suggesting that she start a summer camp for some young Mothers I have observed in the grocery stores dragging screaming children around in their grocery carts.

I brought home lots of berries, I froze them on cookie sheets and then I packaged them in individual servings suitable for winter time consumption. We always use an old set of custard cups for our berries, so I used those to measure the portions. Then I thought, hey what better time to have a few neighbors over, so I made some phone calls, and in the evening we had a little get together. Nothing fancy mind you, but I made a quick trip to town for some Dairy Queen in quart containers..it was just perfect topped with the fresh raspberries. It was an enjoyable gathering, one long overdue on our part, one of those things you think "I should do that soon" ..so I finally did.

Gatherings..berries, thoughts, and friends...what are you gathering? :)

21 comments:

flydragon said...

I think I'm gathering dust:)

Anonymous said...

Those are the prettiest raspberries I've seen. Your photos are beautiful and boy the ice cream sounds good too! I'm laughing about Flydragon's comment above! Sometimes those impromptu gatherings are the best kind; nobody gets stressed and everyone has loads of fun. I'm so glad you both were able to enjoy an evening with friends.

Sunny said...

My mouth is watering!
Sunny :)

Tami Weingartner said...

Oh yummy!

Blackberries tonight in New Wilmington....want to come over?

Tami

Rae said...

The raspberries look so delicious. And of course I like that weather vane photo. It sure is nice to know that there are children around that still respect their parents. Of course it sounds like that mother is doing an excellent job.

L. D. said...

What great looking berries. My harvest was so stinking small compared to that. My berries are done now for the year. I have one batch of berries left for my wife to make a pie.
You are a great person to buy ice cream and share raspberries. I bet it was a lot of fun.

West Side of Straight said...

It was fun! Thanks again! Your pictures are beautiful. Can't wait to do it again this winter!!!!!!! You're not allergic to RootBeer Floats are you? We'll do that one of these warm evenings at our house!

That Janie Girl said...

I dunno...but I wish I was hanging with you today - your thoughts/berries/friends seem so much better today!!

Candy said...

Your raspberries look wonderful. Reminds me to go out and pick more of mine. In season, I mix my raspberries with the mulberries, cook them, strain them and use the sauce over ice cream and cakes. So delicious.

Jeanne Estridge said...

So did the Digging Lady enjoy the DQ and berries? (Hahahahahahahahaha! Sometimes I crack myself up....)

Far Side of Fifty said...

Flydragon, Dust yourself off! Good to see you are as witty as ever!
Mildred, I like impromptu!
Sunny, Mine too..and it will water next winter too!
Tami, Blackberries..you are very lucky to be able to grow them..If I start out now I could be there in four days!
Rae, Mom's like this one are few and far between from what I have seen.:(
Larry, I think all our cooler than normal weather really helped with the berry production.
West Side..No allergies to Rootbeer!! I do love a good rootbeer float and have not had one yet this year!
Janie, You are welcome anytime!
Candy, I have never had mulberries..We can't grow them here. Sounds like a good
sauce!!
Jeanne, You crack me up too! Digging Lady was NOT invited..imagine that!! :)

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Yummy raspberries, I like them even better than strawberries.

Lanny said...

What a great day! What a blessing to see such lovely children! Dirt is still harvesting raspberries but our raspberries go into wine. They are not very good tasting fresh but when Dirt makes wine out of them he makes them sing with the flavor of summer, a very good experience in say Februrary!

Anonymous said...

What a delicious post! The kids were out gathering raspberries yesterday and they mushed them to get all the juice out. We have frozen the juice to make frozen raspberry ice lollies!

I collect earrings - and neighbourhood kids apparently! ;-)

The Silver Age Sara said...

What fabulous raspberries. But what I really want is your moose weather vane.

RURAL said...

Last night I was mentioning to Gar that raspberries will be the first soft fruit we will plant when we move to our farm.....dreams. Gotta love em.

Jen

Coffee with Cathy said...

Oh my goodness -- so yummy and so good for you. Your photos are so lifelike I can practically smell that unique citrusy-sharp-sweet raspberry scent. Thanks so much for sharing.

The Retired One said...

You have me drooling. Raspberry pie is my all time favorite. You are much more generous that me,sharing your berries....! I would have made pies and ate myself silly. ha

Anonymous said...

raspberries have always always been my favorite... think i inherited that one from my mom... strawbs are a close second.. great shots ... (natch)

gp

Anonymous said...

Those are just GORGEOUS!! I have a handful of plants that we eat as we walk about the garden but don't have the water for many more:(

Unknown said...

Those are great - but I'm utterly distracted by the weather vane! Love moose!!