Saturday June 2 Is Blackberry Day In Wichita Falls

I really do live a magically charmed existence.

Sort of.

Just a couple days ago I was lamenting to a fellow former Pacific Northwesterner about missing being able to pick blackberries, free for the picking blackberries, growing like weeds, all over Western Washington.

And now, just a couple days after lamenting the blackberry lack at my current location, what do I learn?

This Saturday, as in June 2, from 7:30 in the morning til 1 in the afternoon, in downtown Wichita Falls, at the Farmers Market, it is BLACKBERRY DAY!

An advertisement type blurb from the BLACKBERRY DAY people...

This Saturday is Blackberry Day at The Market! We will be serving over 200 pounds of FREE blackberry cobbler between 9 and 11am! Plenty of fresh blackberries will be available for purchase as well as other seasonal and local vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, a variety of greens, radish, cucumbers, local honey, pecans, fresh baked breads and pies, jams, jellies, fresh seafood, and a variety of handmade items such as soaps, lotions, and jewelry. Additionally, there will be live music by Hazel and kids will be able to color a picture of the market at the free craft table! We'll see you Saturday! 8th & Ohio • Downtown Wichita Falls

So, BLACKBERRY DAY begins at 7:30, but the blackberry cobbler does not make its appearance until 9am, and exits at 11am. I can work with that time frame.

The last blackberry I had the pleasure of having was last summer, up northwest in the aforementioned Western Washington, picked by me along with help from David, Theo and Ruby. The twins and David had planned on making me a blackberry cobbler with our pickings before I flew south, but time ran out on that endeavor.

Early last month when I found myself in Arizona, in Chandler, for reasons unfathomable to me at the time I found myself at a Dairy Queen. When asked if there was anything I wanted I said I wouldn't mind a blackberry milkshake, due to having enjoyed such multiple times in Washington Dairy Queens.

Well, there were no blackberries anywhere on that Arizona Dairy Queen's menu. Maybe delicate blackberries are a no-no in the HOT desert. I have never had the, uh, pleasure of being in a Texas Dairy Queen, so I do not know if blackberries are on Texas Dairy Queen menus.

By tomorrow afternoon I should be able to tell you whether a Wichita Falls blackberry tastes as good as a west coast blackberry. I suspect it will....