Blackberry bounty ...

There's something very satisfying about jars of jam, chutney or relish lined up together on the pantry shelves - particularly when they are my own handiwork!

I've been keeping an eye out for a local source of blackberries but as it's a serious weed, many areas are  sprayed to control further invasion. 

Nick discovered a huge patch recently when he wandered away from our afternoon tea picnic and called the rest of us to admire his find.

We definitely weren't prepared for blackberry picking but very quickly improvised and came home with a haul of just under 2kg!

The fruit formed the basis of a large dessert cake - and yielded two large jars and one small one of jam.  Yum!

We returned to the same area today, much better prepared - wearing long pants and covered shoes.  We also had a large 11-litre bucket, some plastic containers and several pair of secateurs.

There were even more berries than on our last visit (about two weeks ago)!  We picked berries for around an hour and by then our bucket was about two-thirds full.  I weighed the haul once home again - a little under 4kg!  Wow!

I was too tired to make jam this evening but will process the berries tomorrow.  I'll thoroughly enjoy the sound of popping lids - and the sight of my growing jam collection in the pantry!