Saturday, August 24, 2013

~Breakfast and Blackberries~

We had a really lovely breakfast this morning.
It's been a summer time tradition in our household to go for a Saturday morning breakfast picnic for several years now, but we usually end up at our neighborhood park. This year however, we headed over to Vancouver Lake (a ten minute drive) and the tranquil quiet of an early morning . . .
I packed some homemade Greek yogurt and homemade granola along with hot coffee and chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's.

Throwing the yogurt and granola in jars to mix later was the simple way to go . . . as was the family picnic basket which is always at the ready with utensils, plates and mugs. We also took a bag for garbage and our trusty, never-go-anywhere-without-it picnic blanket. 

I have to say that blanket is one of the best purchases I ever made . . . it rolls up and has Velcro straps to keep it in place along with a very handy handle. Oh- and it washes well, too- it's hardly faded after seven years of aggressive use! 

At the lake we found a picnic table (covered in bird poop), laid out our blanket turned tablecloth and set out the spread. Then we dug in because by this time we were all quite ravenous! 

Here's the view from our bench . . . all that bright whitish color is the sun reflecting off the water.
It was such a still, silent morning- I absolutely love the quiet! And the other benefit of breakfast picnicking is the fact that you not only beat the crowd, you beat the afternoon heat as well. 

And without said heat, it made the second half of our little outing all the more enjoyable . . . berry picking. Blackberries to be precise.

We had gone picking here a few weeks ago on a hot summer afternoon, and let me tell you- I was not a happy camper. Heat, bugs, people- ugh! But this morning was a completely different story. Hardly a soul in sight, blissful peace and cloudy-cool temperature.

It was so pleasant, and the berries were so plentiful I felt like I could spend the day here.

There were just mounds of them every which-way as we walked the lake path. 

We brought two plastic containers with us and they were full much too quickly. But we kept walking . . . it was such a nice morning.

 And there are other lovelies aside from the blackberries all along the way . . . like pale pink morning glories flowering.

And rose hips from the wild roses that grow amid the blackberry bushes. Aren't they beautiful? They just shout that Fall is around the corner.

We stopped at a lovely, overgrown grove of trees and took it all in.

And the Oldest found a nice large tree branch to get violent with. I think the peaceful quiet of our outing was getting to him. ;)

We ended up going only a bit further . . . seems like everyone but myself was more than ready to head home. I was semi-thinking it was turnaround-time when I spotted this huge wasp nest perched among the trees . . . but it was the two garter snakes in the thicket that sent me screaming and hurrying back down the trail. I believe the men folk enjoyed this part of the morning more than any other.

And so, we now have two nicely filled containers of wild blackberries to enjoy. Freezer jam is on the list but blackberry cobbler is the most anticipated. Oh how I love blackberry cobbler. . . especially since it's our Oldest's specialty. No baking for me tonight! :)
Hope you're having a lovely weekend. If I can convince my personal baker to take on some cobbler baking I may soon have a really fabulous recipe to share!

Cheers!

4 comments:

  1. You probably scared those poor snakes out of their skins with all of your screaming! I'm not surprised that the men found it so amusing. :) I frighten them (snakes) on a regular basis as I tromp through the grass to water things in my yard. I'm so afraid that I'll step on one and cripple it, but they're pretty fast. We get along okay.

    Sounds like you had a nice, very outdoorsy picnic. Enjoy your blackberries and don't forget to share that recipe with us!

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  2. Congratulations! If you can get your family out on a breakfast picnic, you're doing very well. I'm still in the chair with my coffee to wake up!

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  3. The rosehips photo shouts Brambly Hedge to me! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FnMnkE9HtUM/SrKSJ9PqMUI/AAAAAAAAB30/ceodP41Fb1k/s1600-h/bramblyfall2.jpg

    I really love the idea of your summertime Saturday morning picnics. I think I will try for this next Saturday! If you share the blackberry cobbler recipe I could have it ready for that picnic breakfast, since I have blackberries all over my YARD! I've never liked the taste of our variety of blackberries much, but Phil loves them. I remember the younger picking them and eating them by the face full when he was a preschooler and visiting us. Adore the picnic blanket/tablecloth. Seven years? I know it is trite, but wow! Times just flies!

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  4. what a lovely picnic! and how fun that you got to pick blackberries! that is so awesome! :)

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