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The Victoria College. Full-time salaried position with benefits available...
DISTRICT "Champions for Community Wellness" has the following positions...
Taylor was so proud. He came into the kitchen with a large Ziploc bag full of fresh dewberries. He and Spencer had just returned from their usual Sunday afternoon trip to the ranch. I’m not exactly sure what they do out there, and they usually don’t provide a lot of details other than to say that they were just checking on things. I guess that’s why guys usually go out to the country.
Anyway, on that particular outing they had found a huge bunch of ripe dewberries that were growing in the cattle pens or corral. These berries are in no danger of being trampled by actual cows because we don’t have any cows. The past summer was so wet that these vines had flourished and now were full of their tart and sweet fruit. I was so excited as he told me of the bounty that I wanted to go out and join in the harvest.
Five days later, we were able to get away from work early enough to go out to the country. The hours of daylight are increasing now, so it provides more time for evening recreation. Thankfully, this spring has remained cool and relatively dry, so it is possible to pick dewberries without getting attacked by chiggers and mosquitoes. The only other nemesis I might encounter would be in the serpent family, so I put on my knee-high snake boots. I am terrified of snakes, but my boots make me feel sort of invincible, and even if there weren’t any snakes these boots are great for wading through the thorny bushes. I could not believe how many plump, ripe berries awaited us. We filled up two Ziploc bags. I don’t know how many I ate right off the vine but when you find a dewberry that is so ripe and sweet that it is about to burst, it just doesn’t seem right to put it in the bag. You’ve got to eat it right then and there.
Taylor told me that we needed to call our friends, Doug and Laura from Shiner. We knew that they loved picking dewberries, and they had had us out to harvest in one of their favorite patches two years ago when they had a bumper crop. It was time to return the favor. I called them up, and they agreed to meet us at the ranch three days later. That would allow time for more berries to ripen.
A cool front had blown in that afternoon, so it was clear, brisk and windy. The berries looked especially clean and fresh from the morning’s rain. We picked until our bags and buckets were full. Our backs were sore from bending over so long and our hands and mouths were purple.
To finish this memorable evening, we went inside for fresh dewberry pie and turnovers that I had made earlier that afternoon. It seemed like a real Martha Stewart mo ment.
I decided to try several recipes. I took some time to experiment making different pies, but I settled on one that seemed best. The recipes share a pastry dough that can be prepared a day ahead. Dewberries can be found on most all country roads. Be careful to dress appropriately and wear protective boots in case a snake is eating dewberries too. Enjoy.
Myra Starkey lives in Victoria. Write her in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901, or e-mail myra@vicad.com.