Recently I told you about the apple trees at the back of my property and my feeble attempts at getting some of them and questioning storage techniques. I also recently told you about expanded archery season opening soon in Maine. This year it’s all about the meat. Whether it has 12 points, 2 points or no points – I want it in the fridge!So I began my annual backyard scouting the other day, crossed my property line and shazam – look at this:
No, not my sexy boot, the sexy deer crap next to it (maybe I should make those pellets into deer poop jewelry). I was on my mini-scouting mission to put up a game camera I borrowed from a relative, curious to see exactly what deer were moving when. I’ve never used one of these things before, so I’m curious to see what it reveals
On this little journey following a clear deer path I stumbled across . . . . sexy blackberries! Oh my freakin’ word – they’re divine! They’re big, juicy, and melt in your mouth. Just look at ‘em:
See what you can find with a little scouting. I didn’t even know these things were back there and I must have passed them a number of times. My favorite kind of backyard “gardening” is the gardening you don’t have to tend – just go pluck and eat, pluck and freeze, or pluck and jam. A yumma yumma! I would encourage anyone with enough space to plant piles of blackberry and raspberry bushes. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving. They’re fresh – organic – and should SHTF, it’s one food source that won’t require your labor (or much of it anyway). There were also smaller apple trees back there producing fruit that I intend to trim up when the weather turns cold. No problem on the neighbor, I have her permission. She doesn’t go back there, and she didn’t even know the blackberries were there until I took her a pile:
Look, there’s even some little deer pellets on the ground in that pic. Strangely enough, the deer didn’t seem to be eating the berries at all, which was fine by me.
Many of you provided apple storage advice – what’s your thought on blackberry longevity lovin’? Freeze ‘em? Make jam? Anyone ever try dehydrating them? Seriously, I’m not usually a big blackberry fan, but these things are awesome. I love them – no! I looooooove them. They’re so sweet, so succulent, I could just . . . get naked and rub myself in them . . . . wow, that’d be so hot.
Hopefully my loading the area with human scent doesn’t drive the deer away for more than a day or two – or worse – force them nocturnal. I doubt it, though. I’ve never seen a buck in the yard. I suspect they’re already nocturnal. I’ve seen their sign, but that’s it. They know better, but the does – and particularly the skippers – they don’t know what Ranger Man dangers lurk in the trees.
What? Me? Shoot a poor little skipper? It’s all about the meat I could never do that! Game camera placement? Check!
- Ranger Man
BTW: Following up on my home brew post, it appears I screwed up my first batch (I’m such a failure). The movement on the airlock had pretty much ceased, so I figured it was done when in fact I should have let it sit for a full 7 days – or so. Nope – I bottled. Now (I guess) fermentation is continuing in the bottles themselves – lol.
“Check one bottle a night” I was told, “because they could turn into grenades” – hmmmm – lol.
“Look OUT! He threw a home brew! RUN!” – LOL
When the bottles get too sketchy I gotta put ‘em in the fridge to kill the fermentation. I tested a few bottles just a bit ago, and they opened with a solid “pop” – lol – and I can attest – they DO have alcohol – LOL! Hey, whatever, it tastes totally fine, a little sweet, but totally fine. I can’t fit all of these big bottles in the fridge, though . . . . which means I have a lot of drinking to do in a short amount of time – lol!
More on Russia:
Putin blames the U.S. for the war in Georgia.
And lastly, a recent, funny comment on my People: the Other White Meat blog post:
Hate to say it but I would eat a person as readily as a chicken or a cow. From what I hear we are red meat and ground up might make good burgers. lets face it when it comes to dire times I and my family matter most to me. If it came to hunting people I would do it alone and pawn it off to my family as dear or cow meat. With other options available this would not be the case, but should it come down to it the rest of you may want to lay low for a while.
Actually, scratch that “funny” comment – that’s scary!
*sip of home brew*
*bite of human thigh*
Tell someone YOU know to check out SHTFblog . . . or I’ll eat you, too!
*belch!*
Related posts:
- SHTF Home Brew Equipment? CHECK! Beer Self-Reliance
- Ranger Man’s Political Philosophy: Left, Right, or Totally WHACKED!?
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Blackberries are good times but keeping them from expanding is a constant battle. Sure make good pies though.
You can also use the Blackberries for wine or a form of lambic beer. mmmmm… lambic. now that is some good stuff. i say let those blackberry bushes expand as much as you can. free grub.
I agree with the Lambic, but not so much with the expansion … then again, our local blackberry bushes grow six feet high rather than creeping across the ground.
You can get berries pretty much only from the outside of the bushes once the grow in height, so a lot of small ones (round or rows) will yield much more berries than a single huge bush
Arranging rows an be as simple as putting up a couple of rows of chainlink fence three foot high.
Don’t bother trying to make a “path” between the rows though, blackberries will dig through anything from sand to gravel and even bricks … I guess nothing short of concrete would stop them
Last winter seems to have had a really bad effect on the berrys here in wicsonsin. I think I may have 25 actual berries from thousands of stalks. I usually harvest about 5 gallons of Black Rasps and a gallon or so of reds just from my back yard. I hope next summer is better. Mulberrys were so abundant that I had to cull some of the trees, actuall lots of trees which seems to be growing like mad. I suspect that the Muls may have had an effect on the others.
Dehydrating blackberries is possible…. just not very good. They come out looking and tasting like unsweet raisins. Better to make jam or fruit lethers. They seem to lose their sweetness when dried so making leathers (with a bit of sugar added) is best….
Or wine… maybe that is best!
You’re lucky. Our blackberries were still sour, so I had let them sit another day or two to sweeten up…and something ate them all. ARRGGHHH! At least our mulberries are big enough to have plenty to share with the natural world…or when I need some meat, there’ll be plenty of berry-fed birds and squirrels…
i do have the greatest recipe for blackberry pie== mountain man style. Its not something you drink until youre ready to sit a spell!!