Blackberries Picking: Summer, Part 2

This is completely out of chronological order, but whatever. 

Summer is my second favourite time to go to the farm. Autumn is my favourite because of apple picking, picking bright orange pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and sneaking through corn maizes (I know, I know..). Nothing is better than munching on countless crispy, juicy apples when the weather is just starting to turn a bit chilly, yet the sun is still warm and bright in a clear, blue sky. As you can see, I miss going to the farm to pick huge bushels of apples. 

Although I don't go to the farm as frequently in the summer, there are plenty of offerings during the hot summer months. The market has bounties of fresh vegetables, including eggplant, squash, sweet corn, and piles upon piles of tomatoes. There are also pick-your-own fruits, including peaches, nectarines, blackberries, and tomatoes. 

I went to the farm with some friends during mid-July, near the peak of the blackberry season. Clusters of both the bright red, unripe berries and dark purple, ripe ones hung from the branches. The sweetest berries are the ones that are so soft and mushy, you have to pluck the fruit very gently, otherwise they will explode in a mess of dark, purple juice. Give it the most delicate squeeze, and you can feel the juices almost burst out of the fruit. Although these are not ideal for picking and bringing home, they are perfect for popping directly into your mouth. I did plenty of that. I think more berries made it into my stomach than into my bucket. No wonder blackberry picking is so hard.

These berries are just waiting to be omnommed :P

Lazy dogs ;)

These berries' lives were saved from being directly eaten, but not for long


So why is summer my second favourite season? I absolutely hate the heat. I would go to the farm a lot more often if I didn't have to suffer under the scorching sun. In reality, it wasn't that hot, but I am a wimp and I love A/C and cool weather. After we managed to fill our containers, we made it back to the market post-haste. We were planning on making blackberry and peach pie and blackberry scones later that day. However, I was too lazy to pick my own peaches, so we just got them at the market. Shh, no one has to know.

Food porn is in the previous post, btw.