Raiding the Brambles

    I was hiking around the marsh edge when I witnessed one of the sweetest things.  A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers was raiding the wild blackberry brambles.  They would swoop down and flutter for a moment before plucking a nice fat berry from the vines.  As soon as one of the birds would grasp a berry, it would fly up to the nearby oak limb. There a ruckus would commence as their offspring sat with its mouth agape.  "Feed me, feed me!" the baby bird would squeal. And feed it, they would.  Berry after berry was shoved down that hungry throat.

  The wild blackberry vines grow higher than my head.  Huge clumps of them dot the hillside ever since Hurricane Katrina.  I am assuming that bits of root stock were washed in with the storm surge and then established themselves.  I leave clumps about the hillside simply because so many critters feed upon them and, if the need ever arises, so can we.  The berries are slightly tarter than the cultivated Boysenberries that I grow on fence lines in the garden but are still tasty and would make great jams and jellies.  If I was not overloaded with fruit and berries that need picking and canning at the moment, I would surely give these a try!

  I watched for about twenty minutes while the parent birds fed their little one.  Then they abruptly flew towards the north and I continued my hike. When I finally made my way up from the creek and through the peach orchard, I heard a familiar noise.  That trio had come to raid my Boysenberries!  The same procedure was occurring. The parents were teaching their little tyke all the good places to dine!  Oh, well.  I really did not feel like picking berries this afternoon anyway.  Son and I did our share this morning when we picked 28 lbs of blueberries.  Whew!  I think I shall just watch the birds pick the other berries!

Sure Signs of Spring!

Spring is here!  Hurrah!!  Yep, spring is definitely here.  Our weather has said this long ago with the temperatures reaching the mid-eighties during the daytime hours but some things take a bit longer.  Today, however, I can truthfully say that the season is in full swing.  How do I know this?  Grasshoppers and berry blooms!  It seems that these two things are harbingers of spring here on the Bayou.

The grasshoppers are of the Eastern Lubber type and are the ones that wreak havoc on the hillside.  They have a tendency to eat every green leaf in sight.  I was a bit disappointed to see quite as many this year as in the past.  I thought that we were getting rid of a good many and perhaps would see a lull in their reproduction this spring.  No such luck.  The critters are covering the volunteer blackberry bushes.  (These are the little ones that are not in a row yet!)  It will not be long before the entire back yard is jet black with their squirmy little selves!  Everyone in the household will start doing the "Grasshopper Dance" as we try to kill as many as possible.  (Before anyone complains about this...come take a walk through my yard and see if you do not agree that something has to be done!  If a goodly many of these critters do not meet their doom, there will not be a sprig of green anywhere within two weeks!)  In just a matter of five or six weeks, the grasshoppers will be a full three inches in length with the appetite of elephant! Yep...these guys do scream spring with their coming.  Not a happy part of spring by a long shot but still, spring.

The other sure sign of spring is the berry blossoms.  The blackberries or Boysenberries (whichever you prefer) are in full bloom!  The hedgerows are solid white with their one inch diameter blooms! This is such a pretty sight in the early morning sunlight! I love seeing the millions of blooms although this does mean that next month (in the summer's heat) I will be picking those millions of berries!   Still, that delights me as all of that picking leads to jars and jars of jelly!  The shelves can be restocked and there will be plenty to share with others who come to the Little Bayou House.

So, in all honesty, I can say that spring has come to the Bayou.  All signs point to no more winter for this year!  Now to get ready for heat, humidity and the coming of hurricane season..oh, my.

Berry, Berry Good Day!

The Bayou saw a stormy weather system move in today making it far too messy to continue working the gardens.  I did manage to sneak out in between the storms and pick a lovely bucketful of blackberries!  These are up on a fence so the picking was easy other than getting a mite wet from the soggy leaves.  Michael and I made quick work of the harvesting since another thunder-boomer was building on the horizon.  Once inside, I weighed the berries and found that we had nearly eleven pounds!  Such beauties!  I could not help but pop far too many in my mouth as I was picking but I used the rationale that they WERE washed by the rain!

After picking the berries, I thought of how many folks had a hand in my raising these things.  I received my first rootstock from Dad.  He had a nice long fence-row in the backyard that produced masses of berries each year.  Then, my Uncle Alfred and Aunt Marie shared a few more roots with me.  This extended my row a good bit and soon I was able to get enough for a pie with every picking!  A few more roots were added by two other uncles!  My Uncle John and Uncle Jim were kind enough to let me dig up some of their "extras" so my row grew and grew!  Now I am able to share berries and rootstocks with many folks just as my family shared with me.  I suppose these berry vines will keep on bringing happiness as long as the plants are given to true gardeners..those who love to share!

All of this got me to thinking about these berries.  I had always called them "Blackberries".  I grew up with this and never considered them to be anything else.  Then my cousin told me that she thought they were "Boysenberries".  Hmmm..this very well could be true!  Looking up about the Boysenberry, I found that it is a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry.  They were first propagated by their namesake, Rudolf Boysen.  After several years of perfecting the berry, Mr. Boysen sold his farm and abandoned the vines.  Later, Walter Knott came in possession of the few remaining vines.  By this time, the vines were weakly and needed extra care to bring them back to the healthy producers that they once were.  Mr. Knott worked hard and soon was selling the berries.  He dubbed them Boysenberries after the original owner.  Later, this same Mr. Knott and his wife started making preserves from the berries and it was those preserves that gave fame to the Knott's Berry Farms!  Small world, indeed!  Now, I am not claiming that my vines are direct descendants of those famous Boysenberries but hey, it makes for a good story!  AND..I do believe that my hand-me-down vines are producing just as tasty (if not better) berries as any of those on some famous farm! So...Blackberry..Boysenberry...who cares?!!  It matters not to me! Into my mouth goes another berry!  Yum!

Gems from the garden!

I was out early this morning..right at daybreak. I had a mission. I wanted to get to the blackberries before the birds had a chance to get their share! It seems that since Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal made their abode in the vines, they laid claim to all that grew around them. Well, I was careful not to disturb them as long as Mrs. C was on the nest and then again when the little ones were still flightless. Now...the vines are mine again! When I slipped out to the fenceline, the berries sparkled like jewels. The dew from the night was still thick upon them. I could not help but pop the first few into my mouth! Oh..the sweet goodness of a fresh-picked berry! It took me nigh on thirty minutes to fill my pail, but the time nor the thorns mattered. I was gathering gems from the garden! Actually, these gems make me happier than all of the gemstones from a jeweler. Call me crazy but a cold, hard rock cannot bring as big a smile to my face as a pail of edible jewels from the garden! Simple pleasures..smile inducing..priceless!

These berries were soon washed and tossed in a pot. After a while of cooking, some sugar and a bit of homemade apple pectin, blackberry jam was being jarred! Ten more pints were added to the shelf! Family and friends will definitely be recipients of some homemade goodies soon. On some slow day, I will bake loaves of sourdough bread to deliver along with a pint of jam. Nothing better!

After finishing the chores for the day, I perched myself in my favorite chair in the front yard. There was a delightful breeze blowing in from the bay making this the perfect cooling-off place. One reason I love to sit here is that from this chair, I have full few of the many bird feeders. Today, the birds were putting on quite the performance. The bluejays and redwinged blackbirds were jockeying for the best position on the feeders. They both seem to like the black oil sunflower seeds and will challenge any that comes between them and their intended meal. As they were busy chasing each other, the redbellied woodpecker helped himself to their seeds. I was at first confused by his actions but after studying him for a bit, I realized this was one smart bird! He would land on the feeder, pick up a seed, fly to the driftwood post and deposit the seed in a knot hole. Then he would start pecking at the seed in the hole.

This was repeated with every seed and it took me a few minutes to realize that he was using the knot hole as a holder so he could shell out his seed. He had figured out that the seed would sit securely in the hole while he pounded away at it. I was impressed at his ingenuity!