I have to admit I am in a quandry.
I can’t decide if I prefer the blackberry cooled by the night air and covered with dawns’ dew drops, fresh and tangy in my mouth and wetter than wet; waking me utterly.
Or, fat blackberry warmed by the afternoon sun and dry to the touch but bursting with juice, sweat and tart all at once in my mouth; leaving my fingers purple and me,
feeling like an empress.
Guess I will take both!
Marnie L. Hutcheson 
How lucky ye be–Queen of Shady Grove Preserve–that you must ponder the best time to pick plump blackberries in your kingdom!! Alas, though I lack berries on my trails, I can travel a short stretch to many Farmer’s Markets, as well as Pick-Em-Yourself berry orchards only minutes away. Today I woke from my sloth and picked up Ye Olde Ranch-Farm Wife’s Guide to Canning & Preserving. (Sexy stuff like Ginger-Peach Preserves, Raspberry-Chocolate Syrup and Raspberry Vinegar.) Can’t wait to present these hermetic jars of sunshine and berry summer days when we hit our Arctic Winter here. And are buried in mica chips & snow drifts!!! Bottled sunshine. 🙂
It’s almost like a haiku! Yum!
I was thinking haiku when I wrote it… 🙂