A Year of Gratitude – July 1, 2024

Gratitude was waiting for me in the berry patch this morning. I found the first ripe raspberries after I finished my morning round of farm chores.

I plucked this ripe black raspberry from the vine and popped it into my mouth. It was warm from the sunshine. The first bite was sweet and juicy. This is the taste of our summers here on the farm.

We’ve been growing raspberries in this row for almost 20 years now. Some years are more prolific than others, but even the lean berry years yield pounds of fresh berries for us to enjoy.

In the days ahead, dozens of berries will ripen and then they will be followed by hundreds more. We’ll pick berries until our baskets are full and our hands are stained with their juice. And yes, we’ll help ourselves to plenty of them long before we come back inside the farmhouse.

I will celebrate the harvest by making a raspberry pie (or two) so that we can taste those sweet and tart berries baked into a flaky pie crust and served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. That will give me something new to be grateful for.

You can find my favorite raspberry pie recipe by clicking on the photo or link below.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.