Mmmmmmmmm...Berries......

My mom has a billion black raspberries, which are small dark purple little things, like the size of your nail on your index finger (as opposed to mulberries which are purple but oval and grow on trees, or blackberries which are oval and grow on bushes but come out later in July). Black raspberry pie is my favorite dessert ever. Even better than Dove's dark chocolate, which seriously runs a very close 2nd:) Anyway, black raspberries are only ripe for like 2-3 weeks in late June-early July, and to pick them you have to: wear jeans and a sweatshirt to protect yourself from thorns, wear bugspray to protect yourself from the misquitos that live in the thick bushes, and you can't be squeamish about the usually-friendly little spider fellas (mostly daddy-longlegs) that like the berries too and need to just be friendly flicked out of the way! Sounds like a lot of work but I promise it's worth it if you can find the good patches of berries. Wild berries that grow in vines along the road are the best; be careful because they smash easily! Wash gently with cool water in a collander, and let them air dry without handling them too much (they squish very easily!) Once they're dry transfer them to freezer bags quickly; the longer they sit out the squishier they get:) But SO WORTH IT to pull out a baggie of summer goodness from the freezer in January!!!!!!! So good for cobbler, jam, and pies. I'm hungry just talkin about it