Living off the land ...

Well, not quite, not yet.
A nice 63 degrees outside this morning.

My morning chores consisted of taking care of pigeons, chickens, and budgies. I watched pigeons fly for about 30 minutes. One group of young pigeons went ranging cross country and came back home about an hour later.

For breakfast I scrambled up three lovely eggs courtesy of our pastured golden comet hens. Yum! I was enjoying a cup of coffee when our power went out. So, I decided to go out and take a look at our power line to make sure that it was not down on our property, no tree had fallen on it, etc. I started down the driveway at a nice slow pace. I decided to wander off into the woods and followed a deer trail down to the old homesite. Then I went back to the driveway and down to the road to check the mail. No mail and no problems with the power line.

I started to hike back up the driveway and came across two pretty wild turkey feathers which I picked up. Then I saw a bunch of wild blackberries, and some were ripe. So, as I hiked back up the driveway I picked a few ripe blackberries and ate them. They are fabulous.

Chip's wild blackberry guide:
Blackberries will let you know when they are ready to be picked.
First, the blackberries are black!
Next, the little "balls" that make up a blackberry will be large and plump.
Finally, when you try to pick a ripe blackberry it will come free from the plant with barely any force at all. You just lightly touch the blackberry and it will fall into your hand, or you might give a gentle tug. If you do this and the blackberry does not release then it is not ready, just leave it on the plant.

Finally, pop a ripe blackberry in your mouth.
You don't need to chew it or use your teeth. Just use your tongue and press it against the roof of your mouth and the blackberry will melt in your mouth and release it's sweet goodness. No bitter taste, no seeds, just delicious.

Pup-pup Wiggles Piller of course was with me for the morning walk. He was following the scent trail of some critter in the woods when a nice sized buck with antlers crossed the driveway about 50 feet ahead of me. The deer are probably enjoying the blackberries now too, along with the clover in our pastures. Seeing the antlers reminded me to check on the mineral block we have out in the pasture which is used by the horses and the deer.

I arrived back at the house to find the power had been restored so I finished my cup of coffee and made this blog entry.