I was talking with a friend the other day and he said something I hadn't thought about in a while.  When was the last time you saw someone picking blackberries??

My daughters and I went out about a week ago and picked a half gallon..mmmmmm....
A some flour, sugar, milk, and black berries, maybe a touch of vanilla and some vanilla ice cream ....oops, I digress.

I just don't see this type of thing any more.  Use to be you would see people out seining for minnows to fish with, picking blackberries for jelly, out trying to get mayhaw's or muscadine grapes.  I just don't see it at all really.

I just fear that we are becoming too separated from the land.  

With my job, being on call 24/7, I find myself the happiest when I am working the garden with the kids playing/helping in the work.  I like the dirt.  I have some very fond memories of following my grandfather as he tilled the garden.....trying to stay in his footsteps in the fresh dirt.......him letting me "run" the tiller as he held the handles behind me...good memories, simple memories......

Anyway sorry for the rambling, but again, I fear we are becoming too disconnected.  It is good for a man to sweat in the garden.  It is good for my children to know that corn doesn't come from a can, that potatos have to be dug, and you can tell alot by how ripe a melon is by thumping on it .

Doc

We always pick raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries in the wild and freeze them for jams and pies.  Its a great way to get out in the woods a bit, pack a lunch and the wife and kid, drink some beer and explore.  And the food and fun is all free!

funny you should ask... a couple weekends ago I went with a friend to stay at his camp, I brought along my girlfriend and he had his wife and her 6 year old daughter.  Well I'm an early riser, so I was up Sunday getting everything packed away in the truck and cleaning up around the fire pit etc.  The little girl comes outside with her dog on a leash.  She complains that she is hungry... well I'm not breaking out my food that's buried in the other stuff in my truck at this point, so I said, "wait until Mr. Todd and mom get up and they'll take care of it."  In the meantime I walked off.  I patrolled the border of the clear cut area (camp backs up to the National Forrest) looking for blackberries, I knew I saw a few when riding 4 wheelers earlier in the weekend.  Unfortunately there wasn't many ripe just yet, but I did collect a healthy handful.  I passed what I collected to my girlfriend and told her to give them to the little girl.  The little girl refused to eat them - it wasn't "breakfast" - fresh fruit... real FRESH fruit was not breakfast, now that's a news flash.... so I ate them

Nicv, my kids would had been on those vines like little land piranhas

We pick black,blue,salmon berries,high bush and low bush cranberries,currents. The get made into aqutaq <eskimo ice cream> with sugar,instant mash patatoes,hot water and crisco. Very tasty. Some make it with moose,caribou and bear fat. Also add greens whitefish and pike meat. All the family gets into the boat and we go 1 hr to 3 hrs away to pick. Lots offun with the kids. Also get to take guns along to shoot or hunt.

My wife and kids pick the blackberries clean around our place. Muscadines and scuppernongs ("sculplines" to you other Southerners) too. Honeysuckle in bloom doesn't stand a chance around my youngest. Gotta teach 'em young.

Pick what..?  are you kidding...  isn't that why God gave us illegals?




Actually we've got wild blackberry, pecans, and plums up where I work scattered through the woods...  

Quoted: I was talking with a friend the other day and he said something I hadn't thought about in a while.  When was the last time you saw someone picking blackberries?? My daughters and I went out about a week ago and picked a half gallon..mmmmmm.... A some flour, sugar, milk, and black berries, maybe a touch of vanilla and some vanilla ice cream ....oops, I digress. I just don't see this type of thing any more.  Use to be you would see people out seining for minnows to fish with, picking blackberries for jelly, out trying to get mayhaw's or muscadine grapes.  I just don't see it at all really. I just fear that we are becoming too separated from the land.   With my job, being on call 24/7, I find myself the happiest when I am working the garden with the kids playing/helping in the work.  I like the dirt.  I have some very fond memories of following my grandfather as he tilled the garden.....trying to stay in his footsteps in the fresh dirt.......him letting me "run" the tiller as he held the handles behind me...good memories, simple memories...... Anyway sorry for the rambling, but again, I fear we are becoming too disconnected.  It is good for a man to sweat in the garden.  It is good for my children to know that corn doesn't come from a can, that potatos have to be dug, and you can tell alot by how ripe a melon is by thumping on it . Doc

For the most part I think you are absolutely correct. I grew up, apparently, like you did.
We picked wild blackberries, plums, grapes and anything else we could find that was edible. We also dug sasafras roots for tea. Man I miss those days.
I still have a big garden and I still pick berries for jams and jellies.
I am sorry to say that my kids, both over 35 wouldn't cross the road for a bucket full of wild berries but they were not raised that way.
So I think you have a valid point.

We have it easier to say the least.  Times truly were simpler back when.....sometimes not better, but sometimes it was.

We pick them around here - not ready yet though.  We had a bumper crop of blooms but its hot as heck and dry right now.  I'm watering some damn new grass only because its right up next to the house and I don't want red dirt or mud this summer.  I'd rather be watering the blackberries!

Last year I picked enough for a couple of pies and to freeze some.  Not much but we still got them.

My gardening-fu is weak right now because of work load, etc.  Need to get it back up to speed.    

not alot of berries around here but we do pick 8-10 gallons of choke cherries for syrup/jelly

You're pretty much on the money....kids these days are lazy plain and simple.  They want to play video games and when it's time to eat the magical refrigerator/pantry holds all sorts of goodies and treats that are for the most part very unhealthy.  If they don't' have it there they bug mommy or daddy to run to the store to buy it for them and tell them to put it on the credit card as though they never have to pay for it and it's just this magical entity that you swipe through the reader and the food/goods are yours at no cost.

I work as a landscaper, I'm 20 years old and being completely honest and frank, I don't really need to work if I didn't want to.  I choose to work because I want to and because I'm trying to be a responsible young adult now and establish good habits (which I have a long way to go yet).  Yes I don't get paid very well for my job, but the SKILLS that I'm learning will pay off in the future.  How many 20yr olds do you think know how to properly plant trees, bushes, flowers, veggies ect.  Or how many know how to properly build a patio, retaining wall, or pond.  For example, I have 2 pots of potatoes planted on our patio right now that are my pet project for the summer since I've only ever grown tomatoes and some fruit before.  If all goes well the 7 seed potatoes I planted will be all that we will need all summer and last into the winter.  We have 12 tomato plants, 8 red pepper plants, and I want to get some more but I'm holding back since I don't want to overextend myself.  One thing I've learned is that home grown is WAY better than store purchased, not only health wise but also in pride.  Especially now with the price of food on the rise, growing it yourself will save you a good chunk of money that can be spent elsewhere.

Another thing is while I may bitch and moan about not making enough money, it's a blessing at the same time.  When I tell my friends what I make they laugh in my face and tell me I'm a fool for busting my ass and making 1/2 of what they make per hour.  Secretly I laugh at them knowing that my job teaches me things that cannot be purchased but can only be earned through experience.  Yes I could have a cushy desk job in an air conditioned office staring at a computer all day getting paid $12 an hour or more like them, not even joking I turned it down, but I wouldn't learn anything.  I'd have much worse spending habits because of it.  As it stands now my spending habits still need work, I keep finding myself making mistakes, albeit small ones, that add up over the long run to cost me more and really net me nothing (i.e. buying a bag of chips today, didn't need to but wanted to and did it anyways...right after finishing those chips I realized how dumb it was since I had a full lunch I didn't even finish).  Because I make less money I feel EVERY purchase I make, so I have to budget accordingly.  I know I'm going to be in for a huge adjustment/reality check when I graduate college this next year and I get my own place and start working on my own.  I just pray and hope that I can keep in mind what I'm going through now and not spend myself into debt or lose sight of my budget.

while most of my friends waste time and money on clothes, vacations, games, movies, hanging out, partying, ect.  I give up a huge chunk of that in order to save money and buy things that I feel are more important or have more meaning to me.  To this date, it's been over a year since I have purchased a firearm.  I have $8K in my checking account taunting me daily to purchase 2 AR uppers, a metric ass load of magazines, and set aside $3K for the pistols and mags I want.  The temptation is there and it is strong but so far I've been fighting it thinking that that $8K is a part of a possible down payment on a house, or several months rent for my own place after I graduate.  My friends who graduated already blew their graduation money on vacations or buying useless junk only to realize that 2 months later they're completely broke again and are in debt even further or are forced to live with their parents.

I like to have fun as much as anyone my age, but I try to keep it at what I feel to be a reasonable and prudent level.  To much fun will cost me to much money, to little fun will burn me out and I'll be miserable.  It's a tough scale to balance but I try my best at it.  I'm about to give that scale a whirl...my first ever credit card bill is going to be in 3 days and I already know I spent over or close to my budget.

I apologize for the rant, and don't mean to come off as high and mighty.  It might seem a bit unorganized since I wrote it in chunks and went back and added/edited things.  I will end with a shallow narrow minded blanket statement though.....people my age.....are stupid

Quoted: You're pretty much on the money....kids these days are lazy plain and simple.

Kids only know what their parents TEACH them.  

It's not the kid's fault, it's the fault of the parents.  And who taught the parents, the baby boomers?

Well, the greatest generation were supposed to.  But they screwed up some how after they won the war.

And the kids of today are the result of wanting the easy life afterwards.  

Quoted: You're pretty much on the money....kids these days are lazy plain and simple.  They want to play video games and when it's time to eat the magical refrigerator/pantry holds all sorts of goodies and treats that are for the most part very unhealthy.  If they don't' have it there they bug mommy or daddy to run to the store to buy it for them and tell them to put it on the credit card as though they never have to pay for it and it's just this magical entity that you swipe through the reader and the food/goods are yours at no cost. I work as a landscaper, I'm 20 years old and being completely honest and frank, I don't really need to work if I didn't want to.  I choose to work because I want to and because I'm trying to be a responsible young adult now and establish good habits (which I have a long way to go yet).  Yes I don't get paid very well for my job, but the SKILLS that I'm learning will pay off in the future.  How many 20yr olds do you think know how to properly plant trees, bushes, flowers, veggies ect.  Or how many know how to properly build a patio, retaining wall, or pond.  For example, I have 2 pots of potatoes planted on our patio right now that are my pet project for the summer since I've only ever grown tomatoes and some fruit before.  If all goes well the 7 seed potatoes I planted will be all that we will need all summer and last into the winter.  We have 12 tomato plants, 8 red pepper plants, and I want to get some more but I'm holding back since I don't want to overextend myself.  One thing I've learned is that home grown is WAY better than store purchased, not only health wise but also in pride.  Especially now with the price of food on the rise, growing it yourself will save you a good chunk of money that can be spent elsewhere. Another thing is while I may bitch and moan about not making enough money, it's a blessing at the same time.  When I tell my friends what I make they laugh in my face and tell me I'm a fool for busting my ass and making 1/2 of what they make per hour.  Secretly I laugh at them knowing that my job teaches me things that cannot be purchased but can only be earned through experience.  Yes I could have a cushy desk job in an air conditioned office staring at a computer all day getting paid $12 an hour or more like them, not even joking I turned it down, but I wouldn't learn anything.  I'd have much worse spending habits because of it.  As it stands now my spending habits still need work, I keep finding myself making mistakes, albeit small ones, that add up over the long run to cost me more and really net me nothing (i.e. buying a bag of chips today, didn't need to but wanted to and did it anyways...right after finishing those chips I realized how dumb it was since I had a full lunch I didn't even finish).  Because I make less money I feel EVERY purchase I make, so I have to budget accordingly.  I know I'm going to be in for a huge adjustment/reality check when I graduate college this next year and I get my own place and start working on my own.  I just pray and hope that I can keep in mind what I'm going through now and not spend myself into debt or lose sight of my budget. while most of my friends waste time and money on clothes, vacations, games, movies, hanging out, partying, ect.  I give up a huge chunk of that in order to save money and buy things that I feel are more important or have more meaning to me.  To this date, it's been over a year since I have purchased a firearm.  I have $8K in my checking account taunting me daily to purchase 2 AR uppers, a metric ass load of magazines, and set aside $3K for the pistols and mags I want.  The temptation is there and it is strong but so far I've been fighting it thinking that that $8K is a part of a possible down payment on a house, or several months rent for my own place after I graduate.  My friends who graduated already blew their graduation money on vacations or buying useless junk only to realize that 2 months later they're completely broke again and are in debt even further or are forced to live with their parents. I like to have fun as much as anyone my age, but I try to keep it at what I feel to be a reasonable and prudent level.  To much fun will cost me to much money, to little fun will burn me out and I'll be miserable.  It's a tough scale to balance but I try my best at it.  I'm about to give that scale a whirl...my first ever credit card bill is going to be in 3 days and I already know I spent over or close to my budget. I apologize for the rant, and don't mean to come off as high and mighty.  It might seem a bit unorganized since I wrote it in chunks and went back and added/edited things.  I will end with a shallow narrow minded blanket statement though.....people my age.....are stupid

Keep this attitude, and you will be able to retire at 40 if you want to, as the owner of your own landscaping business.  Save your money, so you can purchase your own tools and equipment without debt.  Start out small, work until the job is finished, show up neat, return phone calls, and realise that some customers are not worth working for, and you will be successful in whatever you do.

man there's a whole patch of blackberry bushes lining the road to my parents house, with a bunch of sand plum trees too,

we pick the hell outta both of them, nothing beats some warm blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert or some plum jelly on the breakfast biscuits.


I got some wild grapes (around here they're called possum grapes or eldiberries) vines, we pick them too, they make great jelly and the juice also makes great grape dumplings or a base when making wine.

I have a ton of black berry bushes on my property. I love going out there and just eating them off the bush.

Quoted: I have a ton of black berry bushes on my property. I love going out there and just eating them off the bush.

Same here.  Don't forget mulberries, persimmons, wild grapes, and wild plums.

My Grandfather used to take the riding lawnmower and hook up 6 little wagons to it, and each kid got to sit in their own wagon. He then drove us down the logging roads through the woods, stopping whenever we came to a blackberry patch. I would give anyhting to do that again, we always had fun.

hey doc...  

my wife and kids have been picking DEWberries for months, and now are shifting to blackberries!!!  We are keeping the faith brother!!!

I grew up in the 80's, and one of my CHORES was to glean the black raspberry and red raspberry bushes, planted back in the day of war gardens and still thriving, of any ripe berry i could find without having blood drawn from the thorns.

Mmm, black raspberry pie with oreo cookie crust...


When i buy a house, i'm definately having raspberry bushes.  They double nicely as a barbed wire fence!