Berry Picking Time

SUNDAY   +   FAMILY   +   SUNSHINE   +   BLACKBERRIES   +  
CHEHALIS WESTERN TRAIL            PERFECT COMBINATION!

Early this morning as Ebony and I traveled the Chehalis Western Trail from Woodard Bay to Martin Way, many people were seen, full buckets in hand and blackish mouths, picking blackberries.

My favorite was this couple and their two children who came on bikes.

The little boy eating from his bucket made me think of times to come with my grandson :)

The Trail Is In Bloom

Summertime on the Chehalis Western Trail!

Everything is green and blooming.......

Looks like we will have a GREAT crop of blackberries.


When I lived in Colorado the Fireweed did not bloom until the end of summer, but here in Washington along the trail it is blooming profusely.

Ebony likes to get in the picture
The weed I just love is the Foxglove.




I have done several paintings of this flower as I think the spots (I call freckles) are charming.

My favorite spot to sit for a break......


The view from the bench.....



I am so fortunate to have such a beautiful place to spent time on a daily basis.

More Berries

I must admit, I am addicted to berries and there is no recovery program that can cure me.

In the summertime, I go to the Farmers' Market and buy two flats of berries at a time; one to freeze for winter and one to eat. I do this on a regular basis when the strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, and blueberries are ripe.

I also like to forage in the woods for berries. Now flowering along the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington, are the Timbleberry and Native Blackberry.

Timbleberry

The Thimbleberry is native to western and northern North America. It is a dense shrub up to 2.5 m tall with canes 3-15 mm diameter, often growing in large clumps which spread through the plant's underground rhizome. Unlike most other members of the genus, it has no thorns. It produces a tart edible fruit which ripen to a bright red in mid to late summer. Like other raspberries it is not a true berry, but instead an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core; the drupelets may be carefully removed separately from the core when picked, leaving a hollow fruit which bears a resemblance to a thimble, perhaps giving the plant its name.

Thimbleberry fruits are larger, flatter, and softer than raspberries, and have many small seeds. Because the fruit is so soft, it does not pack or ship well, so thimbleberries are rarely cultivated commercially. However, wild thimbleberries make an excellent jam which is sold as a local delicacy.

Native Mountain Blackberry

Do not confuse this blackberry with the weed that grows profusely in the Pacific Northwest. The native blackberries are quite different. They are ropey and creep on the ground except where supported by a shrub, boulder or fence. All blackberries with tall, self-supporting, thick and stiff canes are exotic weed species. The berries of the native plant are very small and require large quantities to make any substantial treat.

Many health benefits come from eating blackberries that are rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins along with being a good source of the minerals potassium, phosphorus, iron, and calcium.

The Art of Blackberry Picking

My dog Ebony has the art of blackberry picking mastered! This evening a friend and I with our dogs walked the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington, with the goal to bring home blackberries.

We scored big time and so did Ebony!



Who said dogs do not see color?

Apparently Ebony knows the ripe blackberries from those not ripe.

I sometimes do not know best when to stop eating the blackberries.

Ebony hung in there, too!