Before you know it, it’s autumn

Blackberries. For 50 weeks of the year, an evil, invasive weed that crowds out native plants and gets into your bike tyres. But for one precious fortnight, you can forget all that and go crazy for the fruit.

 

We popped over to Alison’s mum’s house on Vashon Island for the 2010 Black Beret wine party. The mission was to turn a terrifyingly huge bush of blackberries into sweet, sweet blackberry wine.

Here’s Hart attempting to pick without chainmail gloves or eye protection. The fool! Brian’s pith helmet at least encapsulated our spirit of adventure.

And here’s the result at home. Just one of Karen’s delicious blackberry pies. Roll on Christmas when the wine should be fully mature…