Will Bleed For Black Berries! And Other Natural Foraging Wonders

Well, The Blackberries are Now in full ripening mode!   It also helps that there has been overcast, high Humidity, and sporadic drizzles to aid in the ripening process.  I figured all they needed was a little water to plump back up. Over the last three days we have picked at least  a small bucket  each day.  Hmm, that sounds like a bad sentence, but I don't have any other way to say it.   Basically, a few berries..Every day... Will eventually add up to enough for an entire pie! 

That is... unless we eat them all in the form of small delicious hand pies. ( Turnovers?  Is that the "Proper" term?)

Oh!  Before I forget... Today is out Anniversary.  24 years!   That is kind of a long time, right?   It does not seem like that long to me.   Time sure flies when you find the right person to destroy create  your life with.   All those Adventures and failures...   Such memories.


Oops!  Got lost in nostalgia there for a second...  I'll skip the "Ball and Chain" reference I usually make for comedic value this year.  It IS 2020 after all, and there are simply too many other "funny" things going on.  With the Heat, high Humidity, and "Other things",  there is a very good chance we will not be biking/running 24 miles today as a celebration.   When and why did we ever start that tradition anyway?!?    I figured it wouldn't last very long... especially since that number continues to climb and we continue to age.

Getting back to Blackberries!   You may not know this, but Blackberries are considered to be the largest carnivorous plant in the world.   Larger than that one in Little Shop of Horrors!   That is something to brag about if you think about it:   Stealing berries from a dangerous plant!  And, unfortunately,  I have the scars to prove it!

OUCH!   In my finger

These vines are much more "aggressive" than the Black Raspberry plants.   They remind me of the Concertina wire we used to use in the Army.  It was not like simple Barbed wire, it had hooks that would Tangle and Tear  anything with Toes, Tires or Tank Treads.   (That's a Lot of Alliteration!)  Simply grabbing the vine to pull up the berries will sink a sliver deep into your finger!  Cheryl had to pull one out of my mitt because I am right handed and could not get it out of my pointer pinky.  ( Ok, now I'm just messing around.)

More Turning black every day...

Fawn Mushrooms in our
front yard!

On our run out by the trail today, I noticed that there were more Blackberries ripening.   Seems like a few more are ripening  every day now.   Our freezer is still full of berries we picked earlier, but Cheryl still wants those black berries for pie and ice cream.  Maybe tomorrow we will carry a bucket on the run.   Or go out in the afternoon with the bikes. She promised we could go out after Mushrooms again on Wednesday. 

Notice:  Gills do not touch
the stem... Key ID feature. 

Pink Gills, Pink Spore Print. 

However,  There are Mushrooms literally popping up in our yard!  We head out in the morning for a run, and by the time we get home ( about 2 hours later!)   there are three new mushrooms near the old stump in our front yard.   They are big, white and obvious, so there was no chance of us missing them on the way out.   Do they really pop up that quickly?  ( Well,  yeah!  Obviously!)

Bright and fresh! 

Field Boletes from Neighbor's
yard!

 I did the rounds in the neighborhood after that discovery, and found a treasure trove of Field Boletes in the neighbor's yard.  I luckily managed to harvest them before he mowed them all off again.   Too bad ( or..."good thing!)  People don't know about the edible summer mushrooms that grow in their own yards..  I guess that leaves more of them for me.. If I can get to them before they mow them up.

Bee Balm Flowers growing
on the Kewash Trail. 

And finally,  Cheryl had us harvest a bunch of Bee Balm.  (Monarda)  So she can dry it and use it in her upcoming soap projects.   It is a very strange flower that grows en masse  along the Kewash trail.  I have never really thought much about it, but apparently,  Soapers treasure the stuff.   And after about an hour in the dehydrator... I can see why.   It is VERY aromatic.  It is currently filling the apartment with the smells of Antiseptic Lysol mixed with "New Toy Smell."   I'll let you figure that one out with your imagination. I imagine that the notes are "perfectly fine" in soap... but are a little strong for a 600 sq ft apartment.   They only just finished drying so we can now get to the mushrooms.   I'm glad we did not dry the mushrooms with them, as I'm sure that would have made the mushrooms taste funny....  ( Like Lysol or New Toys? )

Oh!  I should also note that We have learned what one of the odd things we discovered a few days ago.... actually is!   They are American Hazelnuts!   Shout out to Farside of Fifty for the Heads up!

 Now we will have to wait for them to ripen so we can harvest those!   Wild Hazelnuts in Iowa...Who would have thought it?

Where is my hair!?!?

So, another Anniversary notch on the belt.   We did go to Muscatine and eat our burgers at Tee's.   I guess as we get older, the celebrations get smaller.   But it is nice to visit and splurge a little.   Hope everyone is staying cool on these Hot, Humid Summer days.   We certainly picked the worst time of the year to get married.   I still wish we had eloped and got married when we originally wanted too.    That is what we get for listening to parents and relatives....I guess.   Well,  that was a long time ago, so you would think I should forget about those details.   And in the long run, none of that really matters.   We are still together after all those years...  And still finding the adventures and wonders of this world.... Together. 
Thanks for stopping in.