Blackberrying ~by Jeff Tryon
H
ere in beautiful Brown County, we are blessed not only with the majestic procession of seasons—each glorious in its own aspect—but also certain micro-seasons within the grand pattern. Weather seems to be scrambled up like a walking taco these days, but when I was a kid, there were two very specific cold snaps in the spring and early summer. The first, arriving in late April or early May, was called “Dogwood Winter,” and somehow figured in to help the dogwood trees bloom at the right time. Dad would pull up his coat collar and say, “Dogwood Winter.” Then, early in May, when things were really starting to warm up, there would be another short cold snap Dad called “Blackberry Winter” which also, theoretically,
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46 Our Brown County • July/August 2022
had something to do with helping the blackberries multiply. After they cut down a massive amount of Brown County trees in the early settler days, bushes and shrubberies of every kind took over the landscape. Some were not at all helpful, but others, like huge thickets of blackberry vines, had their uses. There would come a time, “long about knee deep in June” as James Whitcomb Riley said, when we would rise early, dress carefully, and go blackberrying. It was important to cover as much bare skin as possible, because the overburdened blackberry vines were also loaded with briars—big, sharp stickers that would gouge you and draw blood if you weren’t careful. This usually meant wearing long sleeved flannel shirts and bib overalls—even though temperatures would climb swiftly as the morning wore on. Mom would put rubber bands around the pant legs and cuffs to keep the insect hordes from getting in there and devouring us alive. Chiggers belong to the same class of insects as scorpions and ticks. They cause most of the itchy, summertime bites that occur after walking outdoors through grassy or brushy areas. They grab onto shoes or clothing and typically explore a host for several hours before choosing a place to feed. Bites are most common at sites around sock lines on the ankles, around the waist, and near the groin. Bites also may occur in other areas, including behind the knee, and under the armpit. When I was a small boy, I seemed to be the ideal host for armies of these annoying pests. They found
