blackberries

i think i've decided that this is the best part of summer.

blackberries are my favorite of all of the berries, and late august is most definitely harvest time. matt took me up to the creekside campus, the 30-acre campus our church purchased and is currently remodeling, to harvest our own blackberries from the overgrown bushes that encompass the soccer field. we showed up with two big aluminum mixing bowls, and the staff that was still there working didn't even have to ask what we were up to: they looked at me, they looked at the bowls and they said "your containers aren't big enough."

so we filled them nearly to the brim, until our arms ached from holding the bowls up (matt could only be bribed to keep picking with the promise of a pie) and then headed home. the scale tells me that we've got about 14 pounds of them. no idea what i'll do with them all (besides the pie, of course!) but i'm thinking a few jars of pie filling, and maybe some jam. unless i can come up with more interesting ideas. :)