The other evening I was walking up the hill from Granny and Pap’s when I noticed a Blackberry briar growing in an unlikely place. I probably would have never noticed it except the white blooms seemed to shine in the shady edge of the woods.
The roots of the blackberry lay well within the woods. The briar was long and lanky with not many leaves or blooms except for the portion that had found its way out into the sunlight.
I stood there looking at the blackberry briar thinking it was truly profound. Even though it was rooted in the damp dark woods beyond the ditch, it fought its way through the trees and laurels into the sunshine where it bloomed in fragrant beauty in the hope that it would produce berries—its life’s calling.
I walked home, got my camera, and went back down the hill to take a photo. I thought “Maybe if I take a photo and write about the lone blackberry briar on the Blind Pig it will remind me to reach for the sunshine too.”
—May 21, 2013
Today the blackberry briar is still growing, in the little patch of shady woods that borders Granny’s yard and the trail between our house and her’s. I still notice the blooms in the spring of the year being reminded to always strive to look for the sunshine.
Last night’s video: Eating White Rice with Sugar & Butter in Appalachia.
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blackberries remind me of some of the happier days of my childhood. We would go way back in the woodlot as a family, while my father was cutting firewood. While he was occupied, we would pick buckets of blackcaps (black raspberries). When we got back to the house, we would eat them in a bowl of milk w/sugar on top. Best treat on a hot, humid day. Blackcaps always spring up where a clear cut has happened, and eventually they will just peter out. My inlaws have a farm junk pile that has canes growing thickly out of it. I drive my MIL nuts because I pick them while in flip flops. Its quite a work out to get to them & I end up looking like I’ve been in a cat fight for a week straight – but the taste – pure sunshine. Picking berries is like a profession for me. Come about June, I actually start having dreams about picking, then I know its almost time!
I am reaching for the sunshine and trying to be a light in these trying times so many are hurting l enjoyed the story of the blackberry vine. As human beings we try to reach up sometimes it’s so hard and we get stripped just like that vine of it’s leaves. Blessings Chirrl
Thank you Tipper. In cloudy times it’s good to remember that the sunshine is there too.
Did you ever notice how trees along a stream bank or lake shore always seem to be hanging out over the water? Did you think that the water had eroded the soil from their roots and made them fall over? Nope! Those trees chose to grow like that. They “saw” an open space over the water where they could get more sunlight. They choose to hang in that precarious position rather than wither away in the darkness.
Thank you for the post and the reminder that I should reach for the sunshine.
Thank you Miss Tipper for such an inspirational post! It’s amazing how nature/ GOD’S CREATION that’s all around us can teach us so much if we will just pay attention to it and LOOK TOWARDS THE SUNSHINE in our everyday lives. Just so you know, you have inspired me to read more than I use to by sharing such awesome posts as you do here on The Blind Pig. Thank you ❤️☀️
Isiah 55:12-13
Learning from nature is profound but so easily overlooked. You are blessed to notice those small things and I’m blessed to have you writing and sharing what you learn. Thank you! My brother and his wife bought me a framed piece of OLD embroidery that I had admired while shopping with them. It will always hang somewhere in my home. Very faded and tattered, stained and VERY impactful – it has survived since 1861 as marked carefully in brown thread with childish stitches. She attached various bits of yellow fabric as petals for 4 sunflowers then stitched the words, “look to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you”. No name but it touches my heart every time I walk by.
What came to my mind reading this was even though we seem to be rooted in dark woods (dark times) beyond the ditch right now, we need to fight our way through the trees and laurels (thorns and briars) into the ‘SON”shine (Jesus) where we can bloom in the hope that we will produce others who will search for and find the “SON”shine —its life’s calling.
I think that is a great metaphor for life. In our darkest rooted places we need to reach for the “Son”shine. Probably make the start of a great sermon.
What a neat analogy! I live in a woodsy neighborhood and try to walk every day. Lately I’ve noticed a handful of blackberry vines along my path that are in bloom. I will look at them different from now on and let them serve as a gentle reminder each day to reach for the sunshine. Thanks for sharing!
It is amazing how some plants can grow. I wonder if I could find the sunshine sometimes through all the distractions that the world gives us. There are so many life lessons in gardening. Let’s keep looking for the sunshine!
Nature teaches those who see and think about what they see. The bible says that to. You are a noticing kind of person. Trust you to be both observer and student. Going to get the camera is the reveal of both noticed and considered. But watching since has added further food for thought. That is one result of living close to the land, learning across the seasons.
Robert Frost said it well.
“Since twenty years is little room,
To see the cherry bough hung with bloom,
Now about the fields I’ll go,
To see the cherry bough hung with snow.”
When I worked in the woods regular, I used to pass a place cut and planted to pines. One day in passing, I realized there had been a dramatic change; what foresters call “crown closure”. The branches of the trees had touched each other and the ground had become completely shaded. The blackberries had stretched and stretched trying to reach the light but they weakened as the crowns came closer and closer. When they met, the sun-loving plants faded away until something happened to give them light again.
I love the sonshine too!! For Mother’s Day our youngest son bought me plants for my planter boxes and also two fruit bearing plants. A thornless Rasberry bush and a thornless Blackberry bush which is covered in white blooms. He put each one in a big pot. We will just have to wait and see how they do but right now they look beautiful. He had the thorn type in his garden and found he had placed them in the wrong place as they send out runners all over the ground and made a jungle type area in his garden so he removed them from that area. I brought in a pot of geraniums and kept them by the patio doors during the winter. They turned their leaves toward the sunshine that came through the door.
I love how we can learn from nature. Sometimes the peskiest things can be the things of nature trying to survive. I had two Rhododendrun that had become problematic. They had grown too large, and each year I was spending more and more time trimming them. That was not the worst of the problem. I would have to get down on the ground and snip away at volunteering blackberry plants to keep them from growing up thickly underneath through the Rhodie. I suppose the thick Rhododendrun had become a main nesting place for birds which just naturally spread the seeds found in nature. One year due to time, I did not get the trimming accomplished. The bushes had not only their own blooms, but also had an abundance of blackberry blooms. The contrast was so beautiful I had to take a photo. Later I held my grandson up, a toddler at the time, and let him pick the large blackberries. A great memory for sure. I later had the Rhododendron removed because of time consuming care involved. It seems we are constantly in a battle to keep nature controlled, and it was great growing up to just enjoy it and leave it be.
What an inspirational post, it draws me right into our woods along with you in yours!
Thank you, Tipper. Those are words to take to heart.
I liked this post especially as we all seem to be in an upside down world right now. I can say if I didn’t have Jesus as my personal savior I would be tossed back and forth and scared and confused just like most of the losers on tv, etc. We cannot go wrong when we move into the glorious light reaching for life. We all (babies, children, folks in various stages of adulthood) are made in THE IMAGE OF GOD. We are truly beautiful beings capable of love without limits and dreams as high as the sky. The truth will set us free indeed. I do believe we are at war with truth and information and the like where bullets are hate and false information as opposed to steely balls… seek the light while you still can and it’s not taxed.
Wild blackberry vines are always the best. I does bring back sweet long-forgotten memories. I too grew up in Jacksonville, Fla a long time ago, and always heard that snakes also liked to be around those vines. I had forgotten about the ‘rice’ desert, as my Dad did that with rice sometime after dinner…rice, butter, sugar and milk. It was a wonder why, til I tried it..it is good and seems to be elsewhere as he was from Arizona before moving to Florida. That also brings back another memory…sliced pineapple with mayo on top and shredded cheese. Thanks for stirring memories, Tipper. Have a Blessed day.
Even the midst of storms and winds, I know there is always the Sonshine.
My brother and I loved the blackberry vine we had on our fence in Jacksonville Florida… we foolishly ate them all at once then had to wait for the next batch lol 🙂
Some days I forget to strive to look for the sunshine. The days I remember are always better days! Thanks for the reminder, Tip!