Our son and daughter-in-law moved to western Washington after he finished his graduate school work at the University of North Carolina. They first moved to Olympia and then, a little more than four years ago, moved north of Seattle. During their years in this part of the country, we made a lot of visits, often traveling by car or pickup. When we drove, we planned to take fruit home with us. Living in South Dakota, all of our fruit except a few berries was imported. Being able to go to a farm market and purchase fresh fruit was always a treat for us. If our trip was early in the summer, we’d bring home cherries. If it was mid summer, apricots, plums and peaches were in order. In late summer the first new crop apples become available. Washington fruit became a part of our travel adventures.

So, when we returned to what is now our home state last week, it was natural for us to stop at a familiar fruit stand and pick up a box of apricots and a couple of boxes of peaches. We’ve had the jot of fresh peaches and apricots to eat. One case of peaches has been put into the freezer. And we're stocked up for other family members who arrive later this week. As a bonus, our next door neighbor has a plum tree that hangs over the backyard fence and has offered us all of the plums that we can harvest from our side of the fence. And the first apples from the trees in our son’s orchard are ready to eat. They plan to process applesauce this week.

It is a luxury that we really appreciate. Fresh fruit on our cereal in the morning. Fresh fruit with our lunch. Fresh fruit for snacks.

There is another fruit that really gets our attention around here: blackberries. There are two types of blackberry plants that grow in this region. Trailing blackberries are native to the area. They tend to grow close to the ground and produce smaller berries. The other type are called Himalayan blackberry. The Himalayan blackberries were introduced from Europe and Asia for fruit production and they really like the climate and soils of the region. They are shrubs of the rose family that produce thorny canes and can grow a dozen feet high. The canes can grow as long as 40 feet and they grow quickly. When the top of a cane rests on the ground it roots. The result is a highly invasive plant that will take over if not controlled.

Yesterday I was catching up on some yard work. Our rental home and yard was left unattended while we were traveling. Our son would have mowed the lawn, but it barely rained at all during our absence and the grass went dormant. There was, nonetheless, a bit of work that needed to be done. The backyard rose bushes had put out long canes that needed to be pruned and there were weeds to pull in the beds. I got after the chores in the cool morning and things went quickly. Then, as I was crawling on my hands and knees, I saw the long canes of Himalayan blackberries growing under the Japanese Maple. One cane had wrapped around the plant. Another was trailing around the base of an evergreen tree.

With my pruning sheers in hand, I went after the berry canes. I cut them as close to the ground as possible. It is most effective to cut them and then dig out the roots, but the actual roots are deep in the midst of other plants and I was unable to get them removed. The part of the plant that was above the ground, however, I pulled out. The long canes have very sharp thorns and are hard to handle. They also stick to everything, including my clothing. In order to get them out of the garden bed, I had to cut them into smaller pieces so that I could handle them without getting my gloved hands full of holes from the thorns.

In spite of the fact that I am trying to control the plants and be a good steward of the lawn and garden beds of our rental house, I have to admit that these blackberries are indeed prolific and prodigious plants. We see them creeping out onto the walking trails as we take our evening stroll. We see them forming hedges over fences and tangling with other crops. We see them winding around trees. They seem to be almost everywhere around here. I read that they are the most productive invasive weed in the area. It doesn’t surprise me.

Furthermore, I like the berries that they produce. There is something fun about a plant that produces berries that can be freely picked in parks and from alongside urban paths. You have to be careful of the thorns, but the reward is a bowl or bucket of really tasty berries.

I grew up in chokecherry country. The edible native plants in that part of the country require the addition of a lot of sugar before they can be considered sweet. We made chokecherry jelly and chokecherry syrup, but it took a lot of sugar - probably not the best for our overall health.

Living where there is so much fruit that is so easily accessible is a real treat and a real change in our lifestyle. We knew that about this region, but actually living here we are discovering that fruit is indeed more abundant and more easily accessible than we had imagined.

There will be many more new things to learn about our adopted home. We are prepared for the thorns as well as the sweet fruit. Still there will be surprises. At least some of those surprises will be pleasant and sweet like the discovery of new fruit trees close to our home. The bounty of the natural world is a blessing worthy of our gratitude.

We are indeed blessed.