The Wild Harvest

You realize you are an adult when you vacuum up a LEGO and you just don’t care.

A couple of weeks ago, my parents crossed the Atlantic to spend time with the family, see our new house, and do a few touristy things here in Kent. As we wandered around, my mother commented several times about the profusion of wild blackberries. Back home in North Carolina, the birds would have picked the bushes clean.

Combine this with a few other important facts.

1. Little kids love to eat berries.

2. I have two little kids.

3. Berries are kind of expensive.

So a couple of days ago, I took a break from the writing, got an old ice-cream pot, and went on the hunt. (It is important for us pasty-faced computer jockeys to get out and see the sun now and then.) About five minutes from my house there is a massive area of wild blackberries. Within fifteen minutes I had collected a good pot full. Such a pot would have probably cost £5-£6 in a grocery store.

I don’t think picking wild blackberries is a big secret or anything, but I am somewhat surprised that very few people seem to be taking advantage of this free food. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is one of them as she makes a fantastic blackberry and apple crumble.

Now, how do I make jam?