Summer is full on us here beside the Willamette River in Oregon. Quite near our house is a wonderful park where the Molalla River flows into the Willamette. Our entire family loves this park; it is the perfect place to bring a picnic lunch as there are many picnic tables under big, old shade trees and lots of parking near them. John and I got up early this morning to walk the park trails and pick blackberries. At this spot we saw a green heron (their legs are the unbelievable color of pale copper green) and a turtle sunning herself on a log in the river.
These are the blackberry bushes lining the trail in the park. The berries are just coming on now but soon there will be the smell of blackberries cooking in the sun all through the park. We make cobbler out of the berries every year. I will be taking them to some gatherings soon so will try to remember to post the recipe with pictures. (I know, I still owe you the Rhubarb Crunch recipe. One of these days when the world slows down a bit.)
In one place the trail winds along the Willamette. I think everyone with a boat and a pair of water skis was out on the river today.
Here they are. We tried to decide if we like them better than raspberries and couldn't make up our minds. John likes them better. I'd hate to choose.
Beautiful hot, dry summer. A golden field containing Queen Anne's Lace. On the other side of this meadow is a third river in this drainage; the wonderfully named Pudding River.A couple of my favorite bloggers have illness in their families this week and I am so sorry about that. I can't stop thinking about them and about how I have grown close to them by visiting them daily on the net. One woman I do know from Artfest. She is an angel who rescues forsaken dogs and her husband is ill. The other I know only from what she has shared in her writing. Please join me in sending these dear ones supportive thoughts of healing and strength. We can only feel humble and small when illness strikes. Take care of your health now and make the most of every moment.
Oh Judy....sometimes reading your blog makes me so nostalgic for Oregon. My mother used to make the bestest blackberry cobbler ever…..oh…to dig into it start from the oven before it even had time to cool….and we would still be so stuffed from eating blackberries while we would be picking them for the cobbler…sigh!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I've never been to that park. But my parents have rampant blackberries at their home just at the edge of Forest Park in NW Portland and my mom sent us over a cobbler last week. YUM!
ReplyDeleteThe few blackberries growing in my sideyard are so, so sweet! Simply unbelievably delicious but most were way too high for me to pick unfortunately!
ReplyDeleteyou are making me miss oregon! your last paragraph stikes a cord with me. my husband is a cancer survivor (diagnosed when we were 27) and you are so right about being thankful for every moment and the feeling of being small when illness strikes. it's a very scary place to be when your loved one is very ill. my thoughts are with your favorite bloggers...
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