Blackberries and Milk

Kody, Willow and I went blackberry picking this weekend! Actually, I went blackberry picking, they just hung around and looked bored.



I found a wonderful thatch of wild blackberries where I have been milking. I picked the perfect afternoon to wrestle with these thorny bushes, it was hot and humid. I just stood still and started sweating. My logic was that the sweat would help the thorns glide effortlessly over my skin. Yeah, didn't quite go as I planned. But on the bright side, I wasn't accompanied by swarming bugs. I will take heat and humidity over bugs any day.



I was able to pick quite a few, at least enough for some homemade blackberry jam. Hopefully next week some more will ripen and I will get to make a cobbler.



We are heading off to the wild blackberry patch. Already their tongues are hanging out in anticipation of sweet blackberries! Or it might have been because it was a hot day.

Sweet, sweet blackberries. At this point, I had to wipe my chin...I was attracting flies. But doesn't this sight just make your mouth water?

I am picking away, minding my own business, talking to Kody and Willow about absolutely nuthin' when I get a call from my mother and my great-Aunt. "Courtney don't forget to get the blackberries in the back, they are the juiciest." Sure, Mom, no problem. We keep talking, and I am reaching towards the back of the bush, getting thorns stuck in me but it is all worth it for the juiciest and sweetest blackberries. Then mom says, "Oh, and watch out for snakes. They like to hang out inside of blackberry bushes." My hand has never moved so fast in it's life! "Snakes!" Forget the juiciest, sweetest blackberries, I am sticking to the ones I can see! Oh and Mom, thanks for sending me blindly into possibly danger. I can feel the love! :)

Can we go yet!?! I want my fan!

What is that coming up the lane?

It's milking time!!! Kody and Willow haven't seen me don my milkmaid hat yet. Kody just wanted to say "HI" to the cows; Willow on the other hand thought they were Monsters from the Abyss.

Mickalyn ready and waiting!

Look at the thick and creamy milk straight out of the cow! Doesn't it look good, minus the dirt specs? Kody sure thought so. I turned my back for one second and he didn't hesitate. I heard him lapping away.

Once I was done milking, it was time to collect the eggs. And since snakes were now on my brain. I lifted every hen that was laying on a nest, up and off. I wasn't sticking my hand under any of them and be surprised by a legless creature. No way! Logic told me that there wouldn't be any snakes because it was warm out, but this girl don't take no chances.

Look at the colorful bounty of eggs!

My Culinery Skills Might Be Lacking

There are some days that I feel like cooking and serving up a masterpiece. But those days are few and far between. I blame it on the fact that I am the only one that would be enjoying the fare that I cook. And the existing rule, "One cooks and the other cleans" doesn't apply in my household. Unless of course I want Kody or Willow to clean the dishes. They may be up for it but it wouldn't be too hygienic. And they leave spots.

What ends up happening is that I grab some cereal, a sandwich or something frozen. The less dishes I have to do the better. Unfortunately, this doesn't give me a lot of variety and at times I run out of cereal, get tired of sandwiches or don't have frozen meals. Which by the way, I have actually stopped buying because I am trying to cook more often, and it is less expensive to have fresh food then stocking up on frozen food. At least it is for me. They have a tendency to go to waste or get frostbite. Ugh! When I by fresh I use it, especially if I have a meal planned. This of course is assuming that I am cooking. I really save a lot when I don't buy anything!

I have planned a lot of meals for myself; pasta, burritos, hamburgers, chicken dishes, etc but lately because of my long hours at work I haven't been thinking about cooking. I eat what I get.

This brings me to the state of my pantry. It isn't bare, but everything in it requires some sort of imagination, which I am in sort supply of because of the aforementioned late hours or use of a lot of dishes that require cleaning. Simplicity is what I am looking for, cereal is out because the humidity made the sugar on the flakes stick together and pasta is out because, again too many pots. PB & J, anyone? Not me, I have had my share for a while.

Then brilliance struck, the light bulb went off...an egg salad sandwich. I haven't had one in forever. Still too many dishes but that doesn't matter because now I want an egg salad sandwich. Two farm fresh eggs are set to boil. After boiling, I let them set in the hot water for awhile. I stepped away to work on something else and completely forgot about the eggs. By the time I remembered I was no longer hungry and just wanted to go to bed. So my culinary creation for dinner was...(drum roll please)...a boiled EGG! On the bright side, I had less dishes to clean then if I had made egg salad.

Last night's dinner was even better, Kraft Mac N Cheese. My culinary genius just astounds me! I am going to have to do better for the Fourth of July, maybe potato salad or a pie of some sort. Hmmmmm....

P.S. Tonight I am having the other half of my Subway sandwich. No Dishes!!!