SEPTEMBER SIMPLE PLEASURES: BLACKBERRY PICKING

⎨September simple pleasures: blackberry picking⎬

And so Summer gives way to Autumn, and it's blackberry season again. Such a delightful simple pleasure...

Blackberries start making their appearance in the English countryside in August, but it's in early September that the plump, shiny dark berries that easily detach from their stem (and that make great blackberry jam) can be found.

And so, armed with my basket, gardening gloves and a biscuit tin to avoid squishing my precious harvest, off to the fields I go.

Filled with anticipation, I open the latch...

... marvel at Autumn's bounty and colors...

... silently sing my gratitude for being alive...

... pause often to breathe in the Beauty...

... follow the signs...

... and finally find my patch.

I pick a few wild grasses and flowers, too, and then it's time to rest. 

Blackberry picking is quite a slow activity, it takes a couple hours to gather a good amount of berries to make some jam jars.

While resting, I notice apples shed by a generous tree, that I will use for a cake.

And then it's time to slowly drive back home, with a full basket and a full heart.

It's incredible how a few quiet hours spent alone in the meadows, lost in contemplation of the wonders of Nature and the Abundance of this magical Universe can be relaxing, invigorating, and even oh, so healing.

On my way home, I stop by a friend's house to pick wild plums from her trees to make chutney, too. She also gave me some sour and tangy Bramley apples, that I will add to my blackberries to help the jam to set as well as adding extra flavor.

If you don't have a blackberry patch within easy reach, you might consider buying blackberries and a few sour apples at your local grocery store to make some jam this month. 

Or treat yourself to a hi- quality jam jar and savor it on your breakfast toast slowly- slowly- imagining you've picked the berries yourself. 

... Such a small, simple pleasure!

Monica xoxo