Happy Fourth of July

I don’t have much to say today except

My daily walks have become morning walks now that the heat and humidity have cranked up again here in Minnesota. As I walk the paths of my neighborhood or wander in my own back yard I feel blessed to be surrounded by such beauty. It is full summer and nature’s bounty is everywhere.

The heat has been hard on some of the trees and on my berry plants this year. I barely have any berries on my black raspberry plants or my blueberry plants. This was my first picking of black raspberries and first and last picking of blueberries this year.

As I approached the berry patch a family of wrens fluttered out of the chicken-wire enclosure around the blueberries, scolding me as only wrens can. I found only 1 remaining blueberry on one berry bush and 2 on the other one. Though the birds probably ate a few berries, there just weren’t very many that set on this year. My black raspberries bloomed beautifully this year but the heat in early June caused many of the berries to dry up on the stems, even though I watered them regularly.

Earlier this week I visited a wild black raspberry patch that grows along a street near my daughter’s house in Bloomington. Though they are smaller than the ones my cultivated bushes have, I got a very nice sweet bowl-full that was delicious. That will be my one bowl full of black raspberries of the year.

I’ve been seeing lots of heart shapes on my daily walks and lots of wild berries on bushes. Though I walk the same paths regularly I see different things each time I walk them. What a blessing to have these trails all through our neighborhood.

Here’s hoping that you are staying cool and enjoying this unusually warm summer. I’m feeling thankful for all of the blessings in my life and savoring the season (though a little bit of cooler weather and rain would be quite welcome).