Forest Grump

This blog starts with a bad mood.

I had to get out of dodge to get this one under control, so I just started walking. Out the back door. Towards the garden. Which keeps flooding... sorry early spring dreams. On my way I noticed some ripe wild blackberries under a tree. Yum! After I stuck a few in my mouth I remembered a (rainy) trek in the backyard a few months back.

The hubs noticed the large number of wild blueberry trees on the pathway, so I decided to go see how they were progressing.

Jackpot!

Not only did I score some great berries - I also introduced my legs to the 2014 mosquito population. When I shared this fact, friends graciously told me about Shea Butter and Vitamin B12 as bug deterrents and Orajel as a soothing relief. Who knew?! These facts may take my foraging dreams and my pancakes to a new level.

An afternoon in the woods and an antioxidant-full breakfast-for-supper turned out to be just what I needed.

There's Something About Berries

I'm pretty sure June is the best month of the year if you like to eat. Give me hot temps and crowded beaches any day of the week, if I can trade it for fresh food off the vine, tree, bush or ground. Thankfully, my friends and family have connections with gardeners who are practically begging them to come thin out the crops. Oh okay... if you want...

Also, Mom was in town this week and on Monday she took me and my aunt blackberry picking. If you, like me, do not have blackberry connections, Gardener's Berry Farm is a gorgeous setting for this. This was Mom's second haul, and she said it was a little more sparse than last time, but we still pulled in two gallons in less than an hour.

The operation hours are a little bit tricky and you do need to call ahead to make sure there are actually berries on the vines. One gallon of blackberries will set you back $15, which is totally, totally worth it.

 

Then you can go home and make an easy dump cobbler* and everyone around you will realize you are Wonder Woman! (Man?)

*Just sugar up the berries to your taste, mix 1/2 stick of butter (melted), 1 c. self-rising flour, 1 c. milk, cinnamon in baking dish and pour the berries over it. Bake 375 for an hour. Easy.

Girls Weekend: Not Without Incident.

Hi!! Here are the exclamation points, as promised!!!!!! It's just going to be an abbreviated version for now.

Here's a summary of the weekend so far:
1. Dinner at Dragonfly in Fairhope.(Yum!)
2. Blueberry Picking/Eating (Double Yum!)
3. Kayaking Trip down Fish River (So fun!!)
4. Phone Drowned (Boo.)
5. Dinner at Big Daddy's (Again.)
6. Lunch at Derailed Diner (Odd.)
7. Beach Lounging (Yes!)
8. Biking the OB/GS Back Country Trail (Double YES!)
9. Dinner at Bravos Tacos (Yes! Yes! Yes!!!)

I promise I will blog about these things this week, but I really must prepare for our jaunt to New Orleans!