Blackcaps!

Day 316: Mmmmmmm, blackcaps! Even half-ripe Rubus leucodermis will stop me in my tracks for a quick nibble. Nature's provender includes a number of very tasty things in abundant quantities (blue huckleberries, for example), but in all my travels, I have never discovered a patch of Blackcap Raspberries large enough to satisfy my craving for them, and certainly never sufficient to collect for jam. The blue-stemmed vines are easy to recognize, one here, one there, each with a handful of fruit. Gathering them reminds me somewhat of eating sunflower seeds, i.e., a lot of work for very little in the way of caloric value. Still, they are such a special treat that I carry a mental map of where they occur within easy walking distance of the office. Oddly, only a very few of my Park colleagues bother with them. They don't know what they're missing!