Wild, free and my favourite late summer hedgerow fruit, it’s blackberry time. We have been busily gathering bowl after bowl over the past few days. I love them for their versatility, straight-off-the-bush-and-into-the-mouth ability, the way they feel between your fingers when you reach that middle of the patch one…! Yay and the flavour varies depending on where they were growing. The three prickly sites we have are yielding hundreds of the beauties this season. Our blackberry bushes also have nettles and bindweed throughout so a “sift and sting” occurs from time to time! It’s definitely worth it when we bring in an enormous haul. I’ve managed to make places to safely stand in shorts and wellies without being zapped. I have to keep asking the children not to eat too many at once but when I turn around, their mouths are full and they have rubbed purple juice all over their T-shirts. You can’t blame them, it’s like taking a mouthful of the most delicious jam when you pop several in. Blackberries are good for you too. They are high in vitamin C, fibre and many other key vitamins and minerals. There are many things I could rave about eating but a sun-warmed, juicy, fragrant blackberry is mighty fine! The chickens have been enjoying a few berries with us too, it’s just the cats who are missing out. I have made a useful blackberry compote for autumn and winter recipes and have frozen a dozen containers of whole fruits. Judging by the number of red and green berries on the bushes, we might have to open a blackberry stand in the lane to share the wealth. It is a great year for them and these hot August days are ripening them fast. I’m hoping birds, mice and other creatures are loving them too. The berries are literally dropping from the bushes for all to enjoy! The great blackberry harvest this year ties in beautifully with the age-old beginning of Lammas, late summer harvest. Traditionally, this is when the first grain is harvested, bread is baked and shared, and seeds are stored for next years planting. It is a time of great abundance and preparation for the cold winter months ahead. “…I too will set aside that which I can use later.” Words from a Lammas ritual that have been running through my head lately. I am also mindful of the busy bees that are continuing to visit the blackberry flowers, doing their part to help make these scrumptious berries. Thanks guys! The blackberries we are saving will be a wonderful health tonic when the weather turns cooler. Excellent timing, naturally.