As I leaned through the thorny canes in reach of the next ripe black-purple jewel, I enjoyed the cool breeze that lied about the afternoon heat to come and listened to my neighbor's cows bawl to their calves. Birds sang in the woods behind me. My big, yellow farm dog Cracker sprawled out nearby, tired out from chasing off anything that might threaten me. What a great morning.
During a decade of berry-picking, I've decided that Velcro® was invented by someone who spent his childhood summers caught in a tangle of blackberry thorns. I've also made up a list of the unofficial Rules of Blackberry Picking - which, by the way, also make a good list of Rules for Life.
2. Be aware of the dangers around you. Keep your eyes and your face safe, and keep thorns from catching in your hair and your clothing.
3. Ask for help when you're stuck.
4. Don't procrastinate. Yes, it's hot, but the peak of harvest waits for no woman.
6. Change your perspective. By looking up, and then down, you'll find berries that were hidden before. When you get to the end of the thicket, go back the way you came to spot berries you might have missed the first time.
7. Don't be greedy. Be willing to share with the wildlife.
9. Sing loudly. It scares off the wildlife.
10. Life has both thorns and sour berries, just like a blackberry thicket. But in the end it's worth it.
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My hope is to inspire you, and to encourage your homesteading plans and your dreams of a
