We've moved from our flat and are staying in a house with some of our former classmates. Its on a tidy little row of British townhouses near the river, just a short walk from downtown, and it is a perfect nest for my last couple weeks in Oxford.
At the end of the block, the street opens up to an access to the river and the walking paths running alongside.
On the first morning, I made my morning coffee and brought it down to the stairs which at intervals lead down the bank to the waters edge. The sun has been out and I planned to bask, watch ducks, pray, and while away the morning. And thats exactly what I did, on my magical little stair hideaway. But then I noticed berries on an overhanging bough of the thicket covering the steep bank... and was delighted to find that they were blackberries. So i stained my fingers pink a(nd scratched my arms rather badly on the thorns) picking sunrise berries and eating them merrily as the ducks looked on. (They don't much care for them. I tried.)
There is a whole thicket, dropping over into the river just bursting with berries. I can't reach those without getting serious wounds from thorns and/or falling into the river. Ooo we should hire a punt and come take all the overhanging berries... anyhow, all that to say there is simple loads. More than the birds can eat. More than the birds and me together. None of the cyclists or walkers on the path seem to care about them- besides some elderly residents who have chatted to me and are delighted to see the berries getting use, since so many go to waste. So my new hobby is picking wild blackberries.
This is what I casually gathered in a few minutes time when I was down by the river this morning. They are the sweetest and juiciest berries ever- it took me awhile to learn not to pick them just because they were dark, but to only pick the fat soft ones that fall off into your hand without resistance. They are the sweet ones. They almost taste like cotton candy.
What to do with the colanders of berries I keep bringing back over the last two days of living in this house? Well, we've talked about everything from blackberry pies,muffins, cobblers, and cocktails, to sauces, smoothies and syrup... blackberry everything.
I started with a small batch of jam. It called for a ton of sugar, and I think I about turned it into candy or syrup...but it tastes pretty fabulous. So while I will definitely tweak the recipe if I make more, we're hardly disappointed with this bright summery spread to start our mornings.
The bushes show no sign of stopping anytime soon- there are thousands of berries at all stages of development...my time in England is ending with a sweet blackberry summer.
