Sep 16, 2014

My mind is full of jam.

We discovered this public garden where blackberries grow freely on a rainy day. 

The crazy though of gathering enough for a jam crossed my mind but it was rainy and we didn't have any recipients with us.

He walked me to the train station next day, said goodbye and I left. Not for the train station but went back to blackberry heaven with the clear thought of picking enough for a jar of jam (you know that beautifully colored jelly you find in supermarkets, seed free and sweet as hell)
 
First you're going to pick the fruit. They are beautiful little creatures. Nature decided to gather up tiny blobs of pure delight, paint them black and call them....ahmm....blackberries. As for humans who want jam, all you have to do is give it time. Blackberries are naughty creatures and it takes time to get them together in an orderly pile in your bag.

Nature has a very nice way of putting things together as well. So you'll find nettle grows beautifully near shrubs of blackberry. Just to test how determined jam driven humans can be.
It takes a lot of time and you're alone. You start thinking that if someone passes through the garden they will at least say you're nuts. You look weird wearing boyfriend's fluffy but superwarm socks*, animal print hooded rain coat and 2 supermarket bags just to make sure the brazen creatures won't escape and stain everything around them. 

You even think about quitting. You told nobody about this idea so nobody can witness your failure.

And then something nice happens. You stop thinking. You know you'll make it. All it takes is patience and keeping your eye on the jar.
You will eventually manage to get a kilogram together. Your pinkie will be a bit numb from the nettle. But it will feel like fireworks light the sky spelling Welldone.

Got home and felt very creative. Instead of 900 gr of sugar, I added only 250. My jam is not very sweet and it's seedy but it tastes like victory.

Maybe we should make jam more often, just to learn about embracing whatever the process with a patient mind, not worrying about how we might look in the eyes of others while we're pursuing our crazy ideas, ready to get our hands numbed from whatever nettle we might come across.






No comments: