Sunday, August 31, 2008

We're in a Jam!

What began six years ago as two little twigs from my father's blackberry bushes in Bloomfield, New Mexico have grown into two huge fruit bearing monsters in my back yard! They are thorn less which is heaven sent, and they have been full of berries for three weeks now. Saturday Richard, Rachel, Dee, & I picked for about an hour and filled a huge steel bowl that is two feet in diameter! We washed, drained, measured, smashed, mixed, stirred, and bottled all afternoon and have roughly a year's supply of jam to show for it! There were more berries left over but we ran out of containers so Dee made a huge pie; this after two pies last Saturday! There are more berries to come in the next few days and I already have a dozen quarts of plain berries in our freezer for future smoothies or pies. I cannot believe I am not permanently stained purple after all of this but it has been fun and we are thankful for this bounty. I found myself talking to Dad yesterday after a few hours of jamming and thought I felt him smiling at us!

6 comments:

Annie said...

Sounds like we should have come a few weeks later. I can remember MANY summer afternoons, with our little white buckets, picking Grandpa's berries! Yum!

URFAVE 5+A Few said...

Man I'm so jealous. That looks wonderful. I love jam, and pies and all that stuff. How fun for you that you have those bushes in your back yard. Thats almost like having a part of Grandpa right there with you. Enjoy all that yummy jam.
Love, JoLynn

Anonymous said...

Marianne, What a wonderful blog post! I got a little teary about your dad. I can't believe we were within minutes of your house and didn't come by for a taste! Next time for sure. We didn't pay Brent a penny for wearing that shirt, he just showed up with it on. The boy's in love, that's all I can say (with Kami however, not BYU). He's really doing his best and we love him for it, we all know it's hard for him (he couldn't wait to get his ASU shirt on after the game). I think we just completed Step 2 of the 7 Step Program to win him over to the "Light" Side. Tell Dee thanks for his support!

Anonymous said...

P.S. Keep trying with the "Girls" thing. You might have to wait until they are all married and have children that they need a break from. It will happen and it will be worth it...I promise!

Helen Ellsworth said...

Marianne; I started the day with Kami's Sunday Six and it made my day. Then I read yours and it just put me over the top as far as days go. Your comment about Daddy was so touching. I am sure he was with you and just itching to get in there and help. I picked a bunch of his berries the other day, not quite as many as you did. And the thought went through my head how nice it was to know that something he planted and enjoyed so much is still growing and we are still benefiting from it. I think his bushes are scattered all over Bloomfield. He would dig up the new plants each year and give them to anyone who would take them. I know the Church Farm is flourishing with them. We have eaten most of what I picked and Steve keeps picking more each day.
I made a Blackberry pie yesterday and Steve wanted to start eating while it was still boiling hot. We managed to keep him away from it until dinner time.
The pictures you posted fit right in. I truly enjoyed them.
I love you so much. Mom

Marianne said...

I love you Mom!