Monday, July 21, 2014

The Berry Best Berries

                                                     
 
For maximum enjoyment . . .

1. You MUST PICK THEM YOURSELF, on the hottest summer days, preferably over 90 degrees with lots of humidity, in the sun.
 
2.  Cover up well in long sleeves and long pants to make it more challenging for mosquitoes to bite through to skin.  (Not impossible, just more challenging.)
 
3. One for the basket, two for the mouth.
 
4. Pray for a breeze to start up.
 
5. Knock basket over in the dirt at least once.  
 
6. Curse the mosquitoes, praise the bees.

7. Use shirt sleeve to constantly blot the sweat running into your eyes.
 
8. Blow out the gnat that went up your nose.
 
9. Re-cover the bushes (to foil the robins sitting on the fence waiting to swoop in).
 
10. Make haste to the house, fill big bowl with warm berries, top with a generous dollop of cold creme fraiche                 
 And give thanks
that there are such a wonderful thing
as raspberries in the world!


16 comments:

  1. Looks like a lot to go through to pick those berries! ;-) But they look delicious. I may just got to the air conditioned HEB grocery and buy a nice quart.

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  2. I got a gnat up my nose yesterday, bleeding thing. Are you travelling round when you come to the UK or are you just staying in London?

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    1. Can't believe it, but I haven't absolutely decided yet! I may take the train all the way to Edinburgh to visit a friend, or she may come to London, or we might meet somewhere between.

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  3. You are so right, raspberries are the very best of fruit

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  4. Seeing all your raspberries makes me really hope mine will fruit this summer - I just put a plant in last year and don't really know much about how to get them to fruit like that. Yum!

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  5. Only wish I could follow these directions - perhaps without the mosquitoes!

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  6. Oh goodness! I felt like I was right there with you. Keeping the sweat out of my eyes is my biggest complaint. The berries are so pretty!

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  7. Cynthia, it,s wonderful -I like this post very much.

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  8. Great to see that you have traveled Cynthia. Minnesota is a very interesting State.
    The Scandinavian influence of immigration, I found was interesting. Scandinavians are great
    travellers - Australian is full of the backpackers who get a 457A visa and can work here to travel all over and on their employment they pay taxes.
    I have been to Rochester ( my sister's husband) was in the Dermatology department for 12 years. I think 4 visits - 3 summer and one winter. The latter - winter NEVER again.
    My funniest thing in Rochester was the annual visit of the Canadian geese - and their deposits (of you know what). I thought the geese were lovely until I discovered the mess on my footware! No wonder Rochester people had no love for these geese.
    Cheers
    Colin (Brisbane. Australia)

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    1. Cynthia
      I tried to send an e-mail, I doubt it went through re: my travels in Minnesota.
      My address is c.huggins1943@gmail.com
      Colin

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  9. I’d love to have fresh raspberries to pick, but I don’t know where. Do you get blackcurrants in your area? We don’t in Georgia. My mother used to have several blackcurrant shrubs in France and she made jelly and blackcurrant liquor – yum! My fig tree almost died last winter. There are only two branches alive and they don’t have any fruit – no jam this year.

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    1. I have red currants but no black. I've never been able to find the bushes for sale, sadly, because black currant is my favorite jam.

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  10. Enjoyed your sense of humour. Never knew there are yellow raspberries.

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  11. I disagree. One for the basket THREE or MORE for the mouth, ha ha :)

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  12. This is a cute post! I have picked blueberries and blackberries before.

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