Berry Nice

What can I say about my first post to Far from the Pahk?
The Pahk is Fenway. Far is the Columbia River Gorge.
I'm on the other side of the country now, living in my 6th US State, and just getting used to the view from here. Which happens to be excellent, as you can see.

Today's thought is Berries and How They Impact My Life.

For the past, oh, 17 years of my life September has meant one thing. SCHOOL SCHEDULE. Sometimes that adjusted itself back to August, due to the insanity of International School, Louisiana Schools and Texas Schools, but by September, the school schedule was my schedule. And for the last 10 years, add to it SWIM SCHEDULE, augmented for the last 7 years by High School Swim Schedule.

This year, I've been on Berry Schedule. With all the moving, and traveling, and college orienting, I've totally missed blueberry season and to some extent strawberry season, though that season has gone year round with imports. So strawberries don't count. I generally stash away blueberries every summer. Not so this summer. BUT...

We have BLACKBERRIES. Oh, do we have blackberries. We live in a neighborhood that uses blackberry bushes like Houston neighborhoods use fences. Our mailman is our new best friend because we cut back the blackberries that held our and our next door neighbor's boxes hostage.

So my day now goes like this:
I wake up when I wake up. NO alarm. No kid needing a ride to the pool at 5 am. No teacher needing a sub by 7:10 am. I go up to the road and fetch my Oregonian. Can't start my day without my newspaper in my hands. Online news doesn't cut it. I need to feel the goods. Cup or two of good strong coffee. Trader Joe's is working really well for me right now. Those of you who don't have a Trader Joe's, think about investing in a store. I've gone way too long (16 years) without a TJ's near by. And near by for me now is an hour away. But I digress. Turn on Morning Edition from the Portland NPR Station.

Maybe I'll eat a blackberry muffin or scone or whatever I've made with yesterday's catch. Then we grab the leash and the dog, and the water jug formerly used to hydrate a competitive swimmer now a continent away, and hit the road for our morning constitutional. At the end of our trek, we stop at our favorite roadside blackberry vendor...an unruly monstrosity that is now encroaching well onto the pavement. We don't go home until the jug is full, a task which is taking longer and longer as the days go by. Tomorrow I think we'll take the long handled pruners so we can reach some of the fine specimens that would be accessible only to someone like Michael Phelps, with a 6 foot wing span.

So blackberries are occupying my mind...what to do with them? Thank God for Google. So far, I've made muffins, pie, scones, lemonade and blackberry infused vodka, as well as customized a cocktail recipe that's kind of like a fizzy mojito. But you'll have to come over and try that one...from the Mt. Hood View Deck. Today I made jam. So far, I like this!
More later....