My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
Cool chart! I have lots of bees and butterflies in my yard. I (and my neighbors) must be doing something right.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! You are doing your part to help our friends, the bees!
DeleteHow cool to be able to help them in any way! :-)
ReplyDeleteThey need all the help we can give them.
DeleteLove the bees! The carpenter bees were out here in force yesterday buzzing around the garden. They love the passiflora blooms but they are not quite that far along yet. The little sprouts that started coming up were hit by the two nights of freeze we had last week.
ReplyDeleteI have lots of the native bees of several different kinds in my garden and I'm always trying to please them.
DeleteMore and more, before I plant something new, I ask myself, will this attract bees and butterflies?
ReplyDeleteI think that has become a major concern of many gardeners in recent years as we learn how much trouble these essential pollinators are in.
Delete