Here's a bowl full of berries, fresh picked this morning. The black berries are just starting to be ripe and you can get a few handfuls without having to venture too far from the path. I don't venture too far from the path because I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt and tennis shoes and this is definitely rattlesnake country. (Staying close to the main path probably doesn't make it any safer, but it feels better in my head, and for me, that's all that matters.) One of these days I may go back out with long pants, shin guards, boots and gloves and bring back enough for a pie. One of these days. Still, it's nice out in the preserve, if you go early enough. The deer flies are getting fierce, but I soak myself in Cutter's and give the dog's back a squirt, and it's enough to fend them off for an hour or so. There aren't too many people out there lately. It's getting hot out now, so we have the place to ourselves, even on the weekends. I've been seeing signs of incipient blueberriness as well, so I have that as a motivator as the hot weather continues. Yum.
