4 B's of Raspberry Picking

Glenn and I decided to pick raspberries in the heat of the day…bad idea, but at least, we are current with our picking.

I picked ahead of Glenn and he followed me retrieving the berries that I had missed in the lush foliage.

But, I had missed something more than the ripe berries.  Fortunately for me, I missed the big hornet’s nest.  I noticed bees flying around, but there are always bees flying around the raspberries because the canes continuously produce berries all through the summer and into fall; therefore, bees are constant companions pollenating the almost endless flowering.   An ever-growing hive is another story.  All I can say is that we were extremely lucky.

I did spy three Japanese beetles.  So, I strolled to the garden shed to grab my glass jar of diesel fuel a.k.a. the bad bug bottle.  I show no mercy to Japanese beetles, stink bugs, and various nuisance garden pests. 

As I was returning, Glenn yelled something about seeing the baby birds.  Baby birds, where?  There was a small nest smack in the middle of my raspberry canes, in an area where I had already picked berries.  Talk about being observant; not!  Of course, since the babies are still near naked, I am unable to name the species.  I will have to keep watch for that elusive mother.

So, all together; I missed the bees, the baby birds, and about half the berries we collected - not an impressive percentage.  But, I did get those nasty beetles. 

 

We ended up with over three pounds of raspberries this go around.  This picking went into the dehydrator for preserving.  Come this fall, my scones are going to be berry-tasty!