Black Raspberries

My sister's husband's grandparents (if you can follow that, well done) have a few acres of land.  Apparently they used to have quite the garden, covering much of that land.  Now, though, they don't have the time to really keep up with all that produce maintenance.  They do still grow some things, just not as much as they once did.  They also have other family members, capable of doing some of the work.  Enter my wife, myself, my mother, my sister, and of course her husband (the necessary connection).  My sister and her husband were told that if the black raspberry bushes weren't picked, the berries would all go bad.  So my sister gathered all of us together and we went and picked away.  My wife and I came home with a basket filled with delicious berries.

The Bushes

They only have one row of berries, but the plants are pretty big.  Even after other people had picked through them, we were able to find many big juicy berries.

The Berries

Here is one of those big juicy berries, ready to be plucked.

The Bounty

Surprisingly, we took a good amount home.  Eating 50% straight from the bushes and still filling a basket is rather impressive. 

Lost Colony

I got a little taste of the farm life I so badly want.
In an attempt to make some extra money to make the move to Ireland a little less painless, my wife and I have been doing some odd jobs.  Her grandmother has been great and has allowed us to clean their church as well as help around on her farm.  Today, while my wife sold strawberries and after I hacked away at a field of asparagus, I wandered around with a camera.  Following a little path next to some wooded land, I stumbled upon a lost colony.  There were about six or seven bee boxes, crawling with bees.  I had no idea that her grandparents raised bees.  I questioned her grandmother about it, hoping we could get some honey, (her grandmother would not even know how to harm a bee, so I would be fine with taking their honey) but she told me she lets some guy use her land for his bees.  Sadly, she doesn't even get any honey out of the deal.

Little Boxes

 Here are some of the brightly colored hives in an area that I would not have expected them.  The colored boxes remind me of something...I'm thinking Sesame Street.

Hive Mind

There is something militaristic about the swarming of bees and the letters and numbers.

Back Roads and Church Parking Lots

The back/country roads of Ephrata and surrounding towns are littered with little churches.  In the parking lot of one of these churches, there sits a pile of junk.  Down the road from said pile is a little one roomed barn/shed/garage.

Pile O' Junk

A couple planks of termite ridden wood, a candle holder with a cross on it, and an ancient piece of farming equipment with a blanked draped on it.  That is what makes up this pile of junk.

Floating Window

I was amused by the little one roomed building.  The walls were very white and I knew if shot correctly, it would be near impossible to make them out.  The end result would be some vegetation with what appears to be a floating window above it.  All I did out of camera was add a little extra overexposure and some extra dark tones.  

Strawberry Patch

Today was my wife's last day of college.  Within just a few months, she will be going to grad school.  In Ireland.  I get to go with her.  I thought this was deserving of a gift of sorts.  We have been talking about getting a plot of land to grow some fruits and vegetables on for the summer.  I figured, in case we don't get one, we should have something regardless.  So I purchased some strawberry plants.  As well as a little makeshift planter.  And I gave it to her.  She was quite pleased.

From Within The Strawberry Patch

Sadly there are only two strawberry plants.  Few things look more awesome than a row of strawberry plants disappearing into the distance.  Never ending strawberry shortcake.  Glorious.