Berry Good Days

Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup -- Wendell Berry

If I had my way, I would wander through my summer days in my little garden, poking at the plants, stroking the furry leaves of the sage, smelling the basil on my fingertips, and knitting on the deck, with Rascal supervising the lot. Given my current unemployed status, you'd think that's what I've been doing each day, but it's funny how life gives you work no matter what your employment status. It is always a treat at the end of each day to visit with my little outdoor space, "tree hugger-style," as many people would call it.

My little berry plantation has been yielding a few treats for us here and there over the last few days. I was delighted to sample some of my first homegrown blueberries yesterday. They ripened in an instant, or so it seemed: one moment they were small and green, then the next moment, they were cloudy, deep blue, heavy with juice and ready to pluck:

And my little strawberry plant has been fruiting nicely for us, much more than any other strawberry plant I've ever had in its first year. I always like to leave them for as long as possible, because I know they're the hubby's favourite, and he likes them extra ripe:

The area we live in also has loads and loads of blackberry brambles, all of which are sitting with green berries which will undoubtably ripen all at once and overwhelm us with their bounty. The prospect is exciting, but I feel like I'm going to have to prepare myself to jump in there before they get gobbled up by others. If I'm watching them, then that means there are plenty of others watching them as well, animals and neighbours alike. Berry wars? Late-night berry reconnaissance? Furtive berry manoeuvres? I have imagined them all... and I might have made some plans...

It is lucky that my current knitting project chimes right along with this berry theme. I'm experimenting with making a shrug using some yarn that my blog friend sent me during our yarn swap last year. The yarn is a merino/cashmere blend by Bittersweet Woolery in a colourway called Beloved. It reminds me of cranberries floating in mulled wine. I put the skein aside for safe keeping before we moved because I thought it would be comforting to knit something in unfamiliar surroundings out of yarn carefully chosen just for me.

I'm using the star stitch pattern from a free scarf pattern called Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks. I'm loving how it is making the most out of the subtle variegated tones. I'm really just winging it with the shaping, which sounds free and easy and fun, but I've already had to rip back a few times to correct errors and to make it wide enough. We'll see how it goes, but if it works out, it will be a very pretty shrug, or a very strangely-shaped scarf.

Regardless of the outcome, it will be beautiful, and will remind me of cool summer evenings on the deck with my berries, knitting or reading or doing whatever other hobby we enjoy... like chewing rawhide, for example. To each, his own, as they say: