There is a large blackberry patch on the front of our property. I have been patiently waiting for the berries to ripen so I could pick them all. I had visions of jams, jellies, cobblers, pies, and scones. Today was the day. The hot weather has allowed the berries to grow plump, juicy and ripe. I grabbed a basket and headed down to the brambles.
I knew I wouldn’t be picking berries by myself. Jack and Diana would definitely follow me and make berry picking a pain in the neck.
They followed me, but took a detour to eat grass while I stopped to photographs wildflowers.
Then they spotted me. Before they emerged from the corral, I realized they wouldn’t be bothering my berry picking because there were no berries to pick!
The vines were picked clean, as far as a donkey, or me, could reach. They had wiped me out! In the middle of the brambles taunting me were huge, juicy, ripe berries by the thousands. Without sacrificing my arms and legs, I could not reach them without being lowered in a basket from a helicopter. I left the brambles with six berries in my basket.
I moved on to Plan B. I would ride the Cricket scooter down to the corner of our property where the berries were growing along the road. I knew there were lots of ripe berries down there because Tucker and I have walked down and sampled them for ripeness. Tucker loves to ride the Cricket, so of course, he had to go along. He settled down for a nap while I went to pick berries. To my surprise they were gone on this side of the fence too! Just as they were on the donkey side, all the retrievable berries had already been picked! I suspect deer or humans are involved in this. I really just needed a cup of berries to make the scones. I leaned through the fence and scraped up my arms until I finally managed to get a cup of ripe berries.
While putting my berries in the back of the Cricket, I couldn’t help but notice I had a BB gun with me. I suppose Michael put it there, but I don’t know why. If I were accosted while picking berries, I could shoot the perp, hit him in the head with a hammer, tie him up with string, and chain him to a tree. I could also shoot a berry eating donkey or deer in the butt as well.
We rode home with our gun and a cup of beautiful blackberries. I will make making scones despite the donkeys and the deer!