Saturday, August 8, 2009

Berries

Today I put in halfway down the big lake from where I live. I can paddle over to the tree lined shoreline of Seward Park, which is always pleasant. There is a breeze out of the south today on this cloudy and humid day. It is not really a light breeze or a fresh breeze. It is a distinctly soft breeze where the air gently folds and wraps around any exposed skin and one feels enveloped by it more than anything. I paddle across to the rich island and back, stopping along the shore of the park to fill one of my ballast buckets with blackberries.

4 comments:

nsarmila said...

are they very tasty scott?

Bonnie said...

I am saving my empty jam jars in hopes I can get them refilled. (grin)

Scott Schuldt said...

Oh yes, they are tasty, Sarmila.
The NW coast was always a "horn of plenty". There were huge salmon runs (run is the term for the salmon's upriver migration) and there still are a wide variety of berries. My favorite is the huckleberry, which grows high in the mountains - the season for which is approaching. I picked Himalayan Blackberries the other day. They are a hybrid nuisance plant that takes over if not controlled. They are sweet and grow in a tangle of vines that forms a big mound that might be 6 ft high with lots of thorns up to 1/4 inch long. There is also a native blackberry - a little smaller, a little less sweet, but a better flavor and with insignificant thorns. The best thing is that they are free for the taking and one can pick 4 liters in an hour, easy.

nsarmila said...

ah! i thank u scott for the detailed reply. very informative.