6.21.2010

Picking Blackberries



All along the left fenceline of my lawn, there are wild blackberry bushes growing.
Bush after bush, heavy with berries. Green, red, and black. When they're ready for picking, they are black, fat, soft, and so heavy they start to bend the branches.
You can pick them and pop them right into your mouth. They are warm and sweet and juicy.
What could be a more idyllic summertime activity than picking and eating fresh berries right in your own lawn?
But there is one catch. Snakes like blackberry bushes, too. They hide in the shade of the bushes. Apparently they don't actually eat the berries, just the small rodents who do eat the berries. They don't want any trouble, but if a child comes running up to them, they will react. They will strike, out of fear.
So now it's a question of balance. I want my kids to know the pure summer joy of picking and eating berries. The pure pleasure of jumping out of the pool, running across the yard dripping wet, and grabbing a snack right off of the bush.
But I need to caution them. I need them to be aware of the danger that could be lurking in the bushes.
I want my kids to be joyful, not fearful.
To have fun, yet be cautious.
To feel the pleasure, but never the pain.
I just want them to pick the blackberries.

30 comments:

Liz Mays said...

I want them to pick the blackberries too!

Why does everything have to come with a warning label? :( Doggone it!

Stacy Uncorked said...

That brings back awesome memories! We had wild blackberry bushes growing rampant in the field across the street from where I grew up in Seattle - every August my mom would send us 4 kids out there to pick lots and lots of blackberries. Of course half of them would end up in our bellies! ;) I'm glad we never noticed any snakes while we were doing that... *shudder!*

4 Lettre Words said...

They grow wild in here, too. Sam loves them!

Smellyann said...

Oh, wow. I had no idea red and black ones grew on the same plant! Man, if I told my kids that snakes were present, they wouldn't go anywhere near those berries. lol

Unknown said...

That is awesome, I wish they were growing in my back yard!

Anonymous said...

That's awesome they grow in your backyard!! I'm not much of a blackberry fan, I know my husband and daughter would love that.
Stopping by from SITS!

Anonymous said...

That's awesome they grow in your backyard!! I'm not much of a blackberry fan, I know my husband and daughter would love that.
Stopping by from SITS!

Rebecca Jo said...

OK... I first loved the picture, but now, I just envision rodents & snakes under all that brush... EGADS... I'm freaking out... hate snakes... I now know never to go near any blackberry bushes...

(Sorry - I'm doing just what you dont want your kids to do...)

Brandy@YDK said...

that's freaky. I didn't realize snakes like blackberry bushes. I don't know what I would do.

Lindsay-ann said...

That's such a shame you have those nasty snakes hiding in your gorgeous blackberry bushes. We don't have snakes in England - I can't imagine having them in my garden. Is there anything you can put down for snakes like a scent they don't like or something to keep them away?
Lindsay
x

Myya said...

This totally took me back to being a kid & picking blackberries dripping wet from the pool. Good fun memories! We had wonderful blackberry bushes along the back of our fenceline, hubby decided we didn't need them anymore & started killing them a couple years ago. Sad! No more spur of the moment blackberry crips dang it! You know, we have always had quite a few snakes in our yard, I never really put 2 & 2 together. Duh!

Myya said...

Yummy Blackberries!!!

Anonymous said...

oh those berries look good. its so nice when something like that is right in your own backyard.

Help! Mama Remote... said...

I've been wanting to plant some. You have totally change mind. I'm scared of snakes. These are garden snakes, right?

Unknown said...

These grow in our backyard too. I love them but they stain so easily!

tiarastantrums said...

oh my mouth is puckering just looking at those photos!!
YUM

tiaras

shortmama said...

I want them to pick them too...its so fun!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Well that scares the sh*t out of me. I guess I will just keep buying them in the stores. They do look wonderful and are my all time favorite. Actually ran to Costco for them the other day but they were out :(

jacque4u2c said...

Snakes - YUCK!
Blackberries - YUM!

Lisa said...

Lovely post! I sense cobbler in your future...

Erin said...

OMG Those look so amazing! I am so jealous! We are taking the boys to the local farm to pick some blackberries!

I so can't wait!!!

Liz {Learning To Juggle} said...

I remember knowing that school was almost over, when all the blackberry bushes in the woods next to our school started sharing their fruit. There was no better after school snack in those days!!

Unknown said...

I drove by a man on the side of the road yesterday picking berries. He just pulled over his car and had his hands full of them.

Stopping from SITS!

Anonymous said...

I'm so jealous of your blackberry bushes. (Not so jealous of the snakes, of course.

If I told my sons there were snakes under the bushes, they would be there in an instant, trying to find the snakes.

Jenners said...

Oh ... how cool to pick berries in your own backyard!!! But snakes ... I don't like snakes. Perhaps a giant berry picking pole would be a good thing!

Melani said...

well you can always get some water gun and have them squirt the berry tree before they go over there, hoping to scare the snake? I know sounds lame, but just an idea...

Heather said...

oh that sounds so heavenly, just picking fresh berries like that! maybe you could get a quirky/cute little sign to put by it? like "feed yourselves, but if you run you'll feed the snakes that are hiding!" hahaha. okay, that was lame, but i tried?

said...

Oh, man. I LOVE fresh-off-the-vine blackberries. They grew wild at our old house. :( No blackberries for us this summer. I cannot tell you how very sad this makes me. Another harsh reality is that those teeny tiny thorns HURT!

Blackberries make such good smoothies. I'm super jealous.

Kristin - The Goat said...

I didn't know that snakes hung out under the bushes -- hmmm, very interesting! I don't normally eat raspberries or blackberries, because of the seeds, but I have been known to pick them off of the vines and eat them. It's so hard to resist! They are so good :)

Kristin - The Goat

Twisted Fencepost said...

We have blackberries all over the place here on the farm.
My son always stops off at the blackberry bushes when he goes to feed the horses.
And yes, I have seen snakes near the blackberry bushes.
Birds like berries.
Snakes like birds.
Makes perfect sense for them to hang out where the birds hang out.