The prickly wild blackberries are putting out right now. They are quite tasty and plump after all the rain we’ve had recently. I thought this photo was funny: The kid is in her purple phase, as you can see by her new glasses and choice of pjs. Her favorite color is actually orange. I am kind of glad our optometrist doesn’t sell orange glasses, though.
With blackberries comes poison ivy. This is also the time of year when bottles of rubbing alcohol and dishwashing detergent are by every sink and in the tub. Both remove the urushiol that makes poison ivy such a poison.
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fast grow the weeds 
Nice blackberries! I’ve already collected about 2 gallons from my wild blackberries. They are so much tastier than the thornless variety!
Our blackberries are just starting to ripen. When we have made enough blackberry jam and cordial I freeze them. All winter my daughter then takes out what she wants and puts some milk on them and calls it blackberry ice cream.
I’m so glad to see someone else mentioning poison ivy!!! I thought it was just me freaking out over it. I don’t know if it’s caused by global warming or what, but our property is filled with it this season. I was out today with the gallon of Ortho Poison Ivy killer spraying the little devils again. It’s everywhere and I’m not exaggerating. It was never this bad in previous years. I read up on how to control it and the Ortho product works better than Roundup, which will kill anything it touches. The Ortho product seems to just kill poison ivy and “brushy” plants, and it works systemically to kill the roots. If you don’t kill the roots, forget it. It will just pop out nearby. I’ve had nightmares about this stuff — no fooling. And, by the way, even after it’s dead, it STILL will cause rashes for years. It’s the plant that keeps on giving…
Mrs. GH: They certainly are enthusiastic, I will give our wild ones that! We seem to have two different kinds. One’s ripe now and another ripens in Sept. and is smaller. What do you do with yours? We simply pick a bucketful or two and then eat them like this.
Judy, that sounds wonderful! I love it when kids DIY too: makes them feel so much more in control of things. I adore red raspberry jam; one day I think I might even plant a few bushes. We had them in MN and I loved just going outside with my cereal bowl and picking a meal’s worth.
Artemisia: I wouldn’t say this is an awful year for us; in half the property it is ALWAYS awful. But I do feel pretty bad for you. I’ve used the Ortho stuff and yes it does work. I like the idea of something systemic because, as you say, the vines have a way of continuing to share their love even long after they’re dead, the damned things. In the winter if I am feeling particularly housebound I will go outside with my hatchet and whack the thicker stalks off then pull them off the trees. Yes it is quite icky work. The hatchet works pretty well uprooting them too. You go from the main trunk down and then chase them around in a circle.