It's October - one of my most favorite months! We had some rain for the last 2 days, and we needed it. But now the sun is out, the leaves are in color, and it even smells like fall. I love the crunch of the leaves, and the sound they make swirling in the breeze. The sun's rays are lower in the sky; they feel warm instead of intense, and they make the fall colors shine. I could really appreciate the beauty of my neighborhood as I took my daily walk today.
Out in the gardens, there is still quite a bit going on. My mother had a big patch of raspberries in our backyard as I was growing up. I've always wanted to duplicate those memories. Our raspberries have been a struggle, however. We've tried different varieties over the years, different ways of pruning, even different spots to grow them, but usually we get only a few spindly briers, or thick briers with no berries, or Japanese beetles that eat briers and berries faster than we can attend to. We've never gotten more than a handful or so of eatable berries. Yes, there are nearby fruit farmers, and every summer we make the trip to pick and then freeze at least 16 quarts of big luscious raspberries. (My husband just can't eat his morning cereal without them.) But still I long to grow some of our own.
Well, this year we have not yet had a frost, and that has helped our raspberries have their best year ever. We've been able to pick a pint or so of berries every other day for the last week or so. It looks like they'll continue for a while yet, if we can protect them from any frost. (Sunday night may get into the 30's, so we'll be tucking these babes under blankets.) These are not the big inch-long berries we picked in late August at the fruit farm, but they are juicy, and sweet, and in our backyard! Yea! Life is good!
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