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happy mother’s day to all you special women!

though my daughter is away at school and unable to celebrate the day with me (she did text first thing this morning!), today brought forth a powerful reminder of her presence in our lives.  this afternoon we harvested our first bowl of plump, juicy, sweet, perfectly ripened blackberries from our backyard vines.

domenica has grown up (see photo) harvesting the ready to eat blackberries since she was a toddler.  when she was born we planted three small vines which have mushroomed to maybe fifteen.  this isn’t counting the stray vines we’ve given away.  i have fond memories of her harvesting, eating as many as she put into the colander (the best part of picking!) and having deep purple stains on her hands, mouth and shirts.  when she was old enough to assist me with baking, we’d make muffins with blackberries as a focal point or cook up some refrigerator jam (for ice cream and yogurt).  recently, though, we’ve graduated to blackberry cobblers, claufoutis and galettes.  so easy, loaded with fresh fruit, colorful, flavorful and relatively healthy as desserts go.   we often add nectarines or tart apples to our dessert creations then bake until golden and bubbling.  yum…i can smell them now!  and don’t forget about adding them to your salads for a burst of sweet/tart goodness…more blackberry posts with recipes will be forthcoming, i suspect.

these simple pleasures and memories will remain in my heart/mind forever and remind me of the beautiful and fulfilling bliss it has been to have a child.

i hope your day has been filled with lovely memories as well.

elena

p.s.  domenica planted the sweetpeas (from seed) in the above photo when she was here for her recent winter break.  there are literally hundreds of blooms now, bringing loads of bees and adding a sweet scent to our front yard garden.  i suspect one of these days domenica will enjoy a garden of her own…that would make a mother (and dad) proud.