They’re the wierdest looking blackberries that I’ve ever seen 
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DAMN that looks tasty !!! And DAMN that there are no free samples available 
.
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Mmm that looks nice , I like mine with Custard on , some like with a scoop of Ice cream .
Now my mouths watering , I shall have the ones in the Fridge with Cream , I was saving the Cream , but i can always buy some more .
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I like mine with custard too!
Did you get out blackberry picking, I remember that you were hoping to?
yes we did , and someone had picked the ones we had seen previous , but we walked on the other side of the hedge , and came across the biggest blackberries i ever saw , but as always they were hard to reach , me with shorts on so sent son into the thick of the bramble , I allowed him to keep them …
Need a Shepards Crook to pull the long branches down ,
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Yes I know what you mean, the nettles can be a bit iffy too… it’s all part of the fun 
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Oh my 
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I know…all credit to my son 
And it’s blackberries again 
The juiciest most succulent early berries have already become squidgy… best nibbled and savoured while picking the slightly firmer specimens.
Also some of the haws are already pickable, check out the creamy colour of the pith. I’m going to make a habit of routinely picking them, packing them tightly in small freezer bags all ready for batches of spicy haw ketchup.
It’ll probably cost a fortune in kilner jars
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Is that your handmade ‘shepherd’s crook’?
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It’s a thumb stick/staff Gaia, it’s hazel and I cut it myself and let it season for a year before applying a couple of coats of light varnish.
It’s useful for pushing branches, brambles etc out of the way. I’ve never used it on sheep I hasten to add
I will be adding a ferrule to the base when I can find one I like.
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My grandfather never went anywhere without his.(I’m not suggesting you need it and are that old 
)
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I have a shorter non thumb stick I cut from a holly tree and another one I bought, it’s Somerset ash. I do actually get quite attached to them …in my old age
I have be careful where I take the ash stick…it looks like a club, offensive weapon time. It needs a new ferrule too!
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That looks like my wife’s hip replacement thingy. 
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I suppose it does look a bit ball and socket… I’ve never quite thought about it in that way before.
No disrespect to the missus I hasten to add
Visions of Christ abound… all you need is 
All we like sheep?
I was going with the Shepherd ‘theme’.
Nice walking stick though
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It’s not a walking stick… it’s my friend