Casa de Clemmons: Berries and Feasting and Such

Berries and Feasting and Such

Fresh berries. Really fresh berries. So fresh the flavor seems dangerously close to bursting the delicate skin and ejecting itself right off of the vine. I like them. I like to pick them. I like to eat them. A lot.

We took a family outing to Bailey's Berry Patch on Saturday morning...or should I say Friday night? The rumor among the Flopsy Bunnies was that the blackberries would be picked out and gone by 8:30...get this... A. M. "Yikes!" I thought. But....while I like blueberries, I REALLY like blackberries. Deep breath. Squared jaw. Furrowed brow. Fist punched resolutely into the air. "Yes!" I can do this! "But how early do I have to get up?"

David said 4:30. Again...in the A.M.! (I personally think anything before 5 belongs to the day before.) Fortunately, I did not believe him and thought he was kidding. The forecast for Saturday was gloomy for picking. Strong chance for thunderstorms and radar images illustrating the point. So we went to bed Friday night with me doubting our berry picking chances and prepared to call it off.

Then...the alarm rang. AT 4:30 IN THE MORNING!!! I personally don't think it is healthy to have a clock that can be programmed to BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP ad infinitum at that hour of the morning. And I cannot imagine why I have such a clock in my home! But beep it did and David sprang out of bed to check the radar. I meanwhile began formulating every convincing excuse I could muster as to why we should stay in the nice, soft, warm bed for just a little while longer and I hoped for rain. Torrential, gusting, thunder and lightning crashing, horizontal sheets of we-could-never-pick-berries-in-this type of rain.

David came back and before I could utter a single well thought out protest, he said, "The rain is six counties south of Bailey's and moving about one county and hour. We need to get moving! Let's go!" and he left the room! Ahhhhhhh!!!!! Nooooooooooo!!!!! Give me at least a chance to explain why bed is best!

I staggered after him, the bathroom light burned my eyes, I was tired and queasy from the ridiculous hour that it was. I think I glared at my sweet husband several times and he chuckled at me. We packed breakfast, bundled the kids into the car (took the raincoats) and were off. I, of course had my pillow and blanket figuring that I could at least try to take my bed with me.

An hour and a bit later, we turned on the berry patch road. Interestingly, several cars turned in with us. My eyes opened and promptly bugged out. The fields were covered with berry pickers! And it was only 6:30 in the morning! We walked to the front and there were already buckets ready to be bagged and taken home. These people had FINISHED PICKING. BY 6:30 IN THE MORNING! I let out a disgusted sound at these obvious overachievers who were making life difficult for us other poor tired grumpy saps.

We got our blackberry buckets from the counter and were told that they were already out of the "picking sticks." These are simply dowel rods with cup hooks screwed onto the end, but they are very helpful in not shredding your arms while searching and reaching for berries. I again sighed hard inwardly and trudged along toward the neat rows of berry bushes.

I began carefully peeking in among the shark tooth sized thorns and Caroline ran up and said "I found you a stick, Mommy!" I gratefully took the stick (which was a good one, she was obviously more alert than I, not hard, the berries were more alert than I) and pulled back some vines. Whoa! Stand back! Who needs buried treasure when it is hanging off a branch right in front of your eyes? Blackberries the size of small chicken eggs were sparkling and smiling at me. I carefully picked them and they fell off into my hands. Black gold, my friends, is blackberries, not stinky old oil.

We continued picking and my attitude (and I am sure my demeanor) improved substantially. We picked two gallon-sized buckets of blackberries and two buckets of blueberries. We saw a little bunny living in the blackberry bushes and imagined he was Peter Rabbit or possibly little Benjamin Bunny. Caroline found many bug-friends and flowers. We all had a great time and were done picking by about 9:00. (still in the A.M. in case you were wondering)

While waiting for our blueberries to be blown off, we bought some jams and fruit butters and even some fruit sweetened fig preserves. We even bought pickled quail eggs for my father in law. (and no, I did not sample one, David did though. I instead spent my time wondering why on earth one would choose to pickle a perfectly good egg when you could fry it in bacon grease instead.)

A very nice couple was cooking brisket to sell and after querying them a bit, I bought sandwiches for all of us...even meat for Parker. It was scrumptious!

So...we have now made two blackberry cobblers and one blackberry crisp in less than two days. The cobblers are gone and the crisp won't make it past breakfast today. Delish and fabulousness!

"But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper." --Beatrix Potter

Posted by stephanie at June 18, 2007 08:22 AM