…listen
…about the music
A berry happy ascent.

Driving around in recent weeks, it’s been common to see people standing with their backs to the side of the road, poised in odd positions. Stretched. Squatting. Contorted in some game of imaginary Twister… all in pursuit of the most amazing blackberries imaginable.

They are everywhere I look and in places I haven’t looked yet. Each time I leave the house I stumble upon another cache of this divine vine. The deer know where the stash is, too, and I’ve returned to formerly lush thickets that have been devoured between my first visit and my next. I never thought I’d be competing in the wild with animals, but hey, my survivalist instincts are coming out now and it’s an earnest game to see who can find the ripest and still-untouched bramble, and not be too scarred by the thorns for their effort.

Above is a group I’m keeping my eye on. I’m ready to jostle the neighborhood buck out of position at any moment, and pounce the second they ripen. I should have had a close-up photo for you of an overflowing handful of the drippingly sweet delicacies I’ve been picking each time I take a walk. But I ate them all. Every last one. Yum yum yum. Selfish, selfish, selfish. Ahhhhhh.