Mini Vacation

If you go down to the woods today, You might get a big surprise.....Yep that would be me loitering in the meadows , bum in the air as my posterior greets the sun and my face plunges once again into the brambles reaching for that elusive berry (obviously one that got missed by other pickers). I certainly have been a determined blackberry picker of late... would you believe I have been 3 out of 3 days.

The first day was intentional when I wandered off with my girlfriend and had a day of picking and galavanting in and out of op shops, eating a decadent lunch in the Port Elliot pub. We both managed to pick a 3 litre bucket full of berries which approximates to equivalent weight of 3 kg. I was terribly excited to find another mixing bowl to add to my collection as well as others finds previously discussed.

The next days trip was also on the way to Port Elliot, in virtually the same area for picking.. I wasnt going to drive past all these bushes on my way to an overnight stay with my sister and manfriend in Port Elliot (I say man friend because he is way past the age of boyhood and as a mature adult needs a little more recognition than boy...or I could just say partner..what's in a name??) Anyway I traversed the terrain in search of berries with bramble barbs picking at my jeans and occasionally snagging the cloth and scratching the old girls legs. My arms haven't faired too badly as I have become a very adept picker and utilize my bucket to hold pesky vines out of the way. I filled another 3 litre bucket and presented them to my sister on arrival...I was very pleased with my offerings

 The return trip home afforded me my third days picking. I went back to the places I had been two days before and managed a third of a bucket. For some reason I went across the road to pick a single bramble patch, that offered a few. The real find was the hidden vines entwined in amongst the gum trees and other shrubs nearby. Yippee Obviously not visible from the road were great big fat juicy berries hanging in clumps in amongst the leaves. They are protected from the sun by the foliage of the gums, so were juicy and ripe. Of course I picked it clean! And with my bucket filled I had another three litres to take home.
So today I have made 5.8 litres of jam! Gold!~I have actually discovered jam setter and have the thickest jam I have ever made. That being said I wont be re doing my first batch of jam - that can remain runny for my yoghurt with strawberries and muesli in the mornings.

I have to make comment about this spider. I apologise for the photographic quality but my phone camera is not good for macro shots and small objects get missed during the focusing process. I really wished I had my good camera with me but my lovely daughter had commandeered it for her own purposes.
I dont know if you can see the zig zaggy line on the left but this is part of the web. Obviously this spider has had to put up with other intrepide pickers whom have damaged his web and he has done the most amazing repair job. Isnt that just amazing.! The amazing spider and what webs he weaves.

Enough of the picking stuff ( I really want to say shit - Is that too rude? I've said it now!)
Enough of the picking shit!

On to Port Elliot. What tales, what adventures will she tell. Well it really is a rocky tale, a stone cold story of trekking across massive boulders  and desolate scenes as dusks light fades.

Really what I am jibbering on about is my sister and I went for a walk. Yes we did this at dusk after dinner. I was so bloated I needed movement to digest the vast quantities of roast that we ate. My plate was very full and I ate every bit of it and then lived to regret it.

So off over the hills we went.

And here are all the granite boulders in their varying states of glory.

The walk didn't help the digestion and both my sister and I were up chatting to each other at 3-4 am in the morning.
Surprised I kept you up this long. Thanks for tagging along through this long winded drawl but I enjoyed my mini vacation away and just had to share it with you. Toodlepips!