As we hiked down the hill to the falls we saw all three kinds of blackberries we know. The kind we can buy in California are Himalayan. Up here the weather has been so cold they aren't ripe yet (I found three ripe ones in a huge patch this morning). These are Himalayan leaves.
The larger berry in the red dish is Himalayan. The smaller berries are wild blackberries.
Another kind is Evergreen--they have spikier leaves and a slighty smaller berry, but taste very similar to Himalayan. We only saw green ones today.
The best ones and hardest to find are the tiny wild blackberries. They are a joy to eat and almost impossible to find, even where they used to be prolific. To find two black ones on our hike was so exciting! They hold a burst of flavor in that tiny berry. What a wonderful trip back down Memory Lane.
We also saw Blackcaps that weren't ripe yet. They are similar to raspberries in the way you pick them. We are just missing out on some great berries by being too early.
Red Huckleberries are the "real" huckleberries of the Pacific NW. This bush was out of reach or I would have had a ball picking them. These are also hard to find nowadays. If you squint you can see the red berries in this photo.
We got back in time to go to the Portland Rosarian's Knighting and Rose Planting Ceremony at the Flavel House garden. It was quite grand and very interesting and COLD! I sat there thinking how nice it was to be chilly (a high of 66 degrees and sunny) rather than sweating like we would be at home.
Then it was rush back to change for the Admiral's reception for 800 people at the Maritime Museum where we saw a lot of relatives, some Gary had never met, but they knew his folks. As we stood in line outside we heard the most amazing group of kids playing marimbas. They were from little Knappa, OR and could they ever play! Awesome! It was such a fun day.
One tidbit that was announced today was the Astoria Little League team is in the Little League World Series this week! This small town does great things!
No comments:
Post a Comment