Roadside Picking

When the berries in our yard began to ripen it made us wonder about berries everywhere else. We decided to give our roadside picking spot a try today. Just for funsies. We agreed that if by chance the picking was not very good we'd go on and have a picnic as planned.


Sometimes you just have to jump out of your car and take advantage of wild berries growing in thick brambles along the road. On our travels around town we have learned the special spots to seek wild berries. The mild winter paired with an early spring heat wave set many of our favorite fruits into early growth. In these parts blackberries are not usually ready until mid-July. Having these delights early is quite a treat. We have been scoping out our secret spots checking for those dark berries to signal to us they are ready to be picked. While the big girls picked berries Adelynn napped in the car. I remained car side to keep an eye on all the girls. Our spot is perfectly set up with plenty of room to park and be a safe distance to pick. We were visited by a friendly middle-aged couple. The woman was so excited to see us picking. She told me how after years of living around these parts fewer and fewer people are seen picking berries, particularly children. Her stories of childhood picking was good to hear. It seems awfully crazy to pick berries next to the road but apparently that is how people always have done it. She shared a few ideas on ways to enjoy fresh berries and then went on her way.


Giggling about the people watching us we continued to forage. The blackberries were not as plentiful as the raspberries. We gathered what we could reach lifting up prickly branches to find hidden berries. I think that the lack of good spring rains has made the berries small this year. The blackberries are suffering the most. As disappointing as it is to see such small berries we are always happy to pick them. We picked as many as we could before heading to the park for a picnic. We may not have many blackberries but that did not stop the girls from chattering now stop about the many ways they planned to enjoy the fruit.


I too have ideas but the real question is how many of those berries are going to make it home with all those sneaky nibblers stealing bites?

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