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| Web on a milk weed plant. What kind of spider made it? |
What made it? I was in the wild blackberry patch in early morning, just as the sun was popping up over the Eastern hills in Tennessee and spotted this fabulous web and though I searched the I-net and Wikipedia for identification of its spinner of origin, I could not find anything but a lot of pictures of gross spiders, but nothing found with this web type. It is probably a good thing that I did not see what made it and, greater yet, the precise reason I wear plastic gloves when I picked the berries! Ooh, shudder at the thought of it crawling up my arm...Yikes! However, if anyone knows, please send it to me and we can all learn something.
Also, I want to thank you for being faithful readers while I had a lapse in the degree of detail in the photogrpaphy. I tried for a long time to get my operating systems to cooperate but in the end, I had to purchase new equipment. I am using one of those new little gizmos called a computer Notebook. It has the functionality of a computer, so, I can upload my digital photographs again and this pleases me very much! It is small and light; 6.5 x 10.5 inches but I have noticed a few drawbacks even in my first day of use. I type faster than it processes and, it has a lot of pre-loaded advertisement I will try to get out of when I figure out how, (and why isn't the spell-checker doing its work when I press the button?) but, I am thrilled and will be posting more frequently.
We are extremely dry here in Central Kentcuky but the hydrangeas keep coming on in the deepest blues I have ever seen them. All these colors were on the same bush. Mine? That one that I have fertilized/prayed/cursed/watered? No blooms again this year.
The other photos below are from the wild berry patch; the briars are incredibly sharp and painful when they scratch, and they have this way of snagging your skin or shirt that causes you to go further into the bush to get it to release you.
Here are a few rules of successful wild blackberry picking: Do not reach into the middle of the bush for that berry that looks the plumpest and juiciest. Rule two: do not talk yourself out of Rule 1 and you will enjoy the picking experience more. If you do scratch yourself, Email me about Garden Goop, it really does heal those things up in less than a day. It is also soothing and takes the soreness out of the wound.
Here are a few rules of successful wild blackberry picking: Do not reach into the middle of the bush for that berry that looks the plumpest and juiciest. Rule two: do not talk yourself out of Rule 1 and you will enjoy the picking experience more. If you do scratch yourself, Email me about Garden Goop, it really does heal those things up in less than a day. It is also soothing and takes the soreness out of the wound.
Across the pond in the photos below, you will see the blackberries from a distance; quite tall, just behind the slender cat-tails in the center of the picture. Some of the canes were well over my head. We wondered aloud "How do deer eat these and not get stuck on the briars?"
While cousin and I had our backs turned picking, we heard the squeal of some animal in distress; "Eee, eee, eee!" It seemed to say "Help me, help me!"
We heard crashing in the woods and stumbling out through the underbrush was the dog (A very kind Malinoit) holding a fawn by the scruff of the neck; not a kill hold but more like 'moving the baby' hold. Cousin scolded "DROP IT!", the dog complied and about that time, the doe came charging out, the dog took off and the chase was on! At any moment, we expected the howls of a kicked dog to come across the meadow but, it did not. Before long, dog came back to the picking operation and the doe could be heard going back through the underbrush to find baby. The whole episode took less than a minute! It was really surprising and we both said "WHAT THE HECK?" Never a dull minute in the country!
As we enter into the weekend, put your feet up, take a minute to be thankful and grateful about something! When the answers you are waiting for have not yet come, remember that these things have a season and some seasons are longer than others. The bread is not finished until it is finished.
Tried making a new flatbread today; (Chappatti from a North India-Nepal area recipe)...found out what I needed to know by finding out what did not work. Made notes, will try another, another day.
Enjoy these blooms from around the pond and, some blooms where you find them in life!
