The Art of Berrypicking

Pre-picking preparations are key.  I suggest wiping yourself down with a mosquito wipe before donning a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.  And be sure to put kerosene on the cuffs of the sleeves and the hem of the jeans.  Then place rubber bands around wrists and ankles before stepping into your work boots.

Finally, attach an Off Clip On to your waistband.  I dare a chigger to penetrate this armor.

And don't forget gloves, because God didn't make it easy to harvest these guys from their thorny bushes.

Awwww.  Pretty wildflowers on the way to the garden fence. I'm very easily distracted.

This was our garden spot last year.  It was a lot of work and not very productive, since the deer ate just about everything before we had a chance.  This year it is filled with wildflowers, which may devastate Neal, but it tickles me pink.

What we DO have is a massive amount of blackberries growing along the fence line.

Here are some of my warnings tips when you're picking blackberries.  When you see several good specimens on one branch, don't get in a hurry and try to pick several at once. The majority will just end up on the ground.  Take your time and pick them one by one and drop them carefully into your berry basket.

Or Cool Whip tub....whatever.

When you hear rustling in the leaves under the bushes, just pray that it's not a copperhead.  And if it IS a copperhead, just pray that he is more afraid of you than you are of him.  And if God answers THAT prayer, you will have experienced a miracle of biblical proportions.

Choose your berries carefully.  The perfect blackberry is big, black and shiny.  Shriveled are no good, and dull are on their way to being shriveled.  It should practically fall into your hand...or onto the ground, as mentioned before.  If it was not a perfect 10, do not forage through the leaves to retrieve it.  Mr. Copperhead is just dying for you to do that.

Here is an almost perfect blackberry.

I have never been much of a fan of berrypicking.  But when I saw this....

I couldn't help but get excited.

And this almost made me giddy......

I think I'd had too much sun by that time.

Ooh.  Dragonfly.

If your hand starts swelling and throbbing, the rubber band is probably too tight.  I'm just guessing.

When you've had enough fun.  Strip down and jump in the pool. Not only will it cool you off, but the chlorine may kill any chigger that managed to get past the kerosene and rubber bands.

Don't try this if you live in the city.











It's a lot of work for a blackberry cobbler.  But right now, there isn't much I wouldn't do for my hubby.