Ripening Blackberries

My mouth started to water just looking at the blackberries on this tea cup by Kent. The vine is in flower and the berries are are tiny and not plump or ripe yet. I am quite sure that if I picked them now I would pucker up and cry. This blackberry bush or bramble bush as it is known in England and Scotland, doesn't show much evidence of the treacherous thorns and stubborn vines that can make collecting wild berries such a challenge. It's early in the season I guess. Speaking of seasons, blackberries are one of the species tracked by The UK Phenology Network which has been compiling records of how soon in the year the blackberry fruit ripens in the UK. The ripened blackberry fruit is considered a harbinger of Fall and is a part of Autumn Watch. The overall trend has been that blackberries are ripening several weeks earlier making them a small but significant indicator of overall climate change. New York naturalist "Wildman" Steve Brill introduces children to the joys of wild blackberries in this chapter from his soon to be published book Stalking the Wild Dandelion: A Guide to Wild Edible Plants for Teachers and Parents to Use With Children. I drank my hot raspberry tea to Mark Knopfler's "Sailing to Philadelphia."