blueberry hill

I found my thrill.....

 

let's say that Maria Sharapova and I wanted to go to Ojai and pick blackberries..well we couldn't because there's a certain type there called Himalayan blackberries and they are hated more than eucalyptus trees..so naturally I love 'em like I love Maria...they produce edible fruit but according to the native-only cult, the pants I mean plants are noxious weeds that "crowd out the native plants" ....oh yeah, I've heard that one before...invasive species hysteria..

and now we got a bunch of wackos in Ojai trying to get rid of the blackberries...these are nonprofits who use unsuspecting kids to remove the plants and they get environmental awards from the Governor's office.

 

I read this in the Ojai Valley Visitor's Guide..there's a cult called CREW...Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers who go around trying to kill all the non-native plants..and the city of Ojai supports them! and the first paragraph tells a story of how stupid they are: a crewmember uses a chain saw on sumac on a 90 plus degree day in Matilija Canyon....what's that spell: FIRE!!!!

now why would anyone want to kill blackberry plants? I don't know..maybe they are insane?? teaching kids to hate certain plants for silly reasons is totally unacceptable..and they are messing up the environment that I love....where plants can grow without harassment from idiots like CREW..

the good thing is these blackberries are very resouceful and grow back like thistle does...so I'll get a kick out of watching these nitiwits try to outsmart a plant

Himalaya Blackberry is one of Seattle's best known plants. To most of us it is the common blackberry. No wild fruit is as familiar west of the Cascades, and people who don't even consider harvesting other wild edibles often partake joyfully of this. The plant is characterized not only by its luscious black berries in August, but by astonishing vigor, and thumbtack-like thorns. It can be a Major Weed. Here is its story. Before Europeans made themselves at home west of the Cascades, the native Americans ate berries from native brambles: Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis), Thimbleberries (R. parviflorus), Trailing Blackberries (R. ursinus) and Blackcap Raspberries (R. leucodermis) were all harvested. If you want to learn more about these native fruits, consult ethnobotanical writings by Nancy J. Turner et al. Luther Burbank, greatest ever of plant-breeders, introduced the Himalaya Blackberry in 1885. During his long career he originated such new creations as Shasta Daisies, Elephant Garlic, Burbank Potato, Thundercloud Plum, Spineless Cactus, Pineapple Quince, Santa Rosa Plum and hundreds more. Reading about this one person's achievements amazes and inspires us. Obtaining the Himalaya berry was one of his comparatively easy endeavors. Burbank simply exchanged seeds with a source in India. He named the best of his seedlings so raised 'Himalaya Giant' to commemorate its origin. We don't know how many seedlings he had. But the one he named and released has made itself thoroughly wild on the West Coast in northern California well into British Columbia. Birds spread the berries. The root-systems are tough and extensive. Native vegetation is choked-out by the invasive bramble.

http://www.arthurleej.com/a-himalayabb.html

but the birds and bears will scatter the seeds (dispersal) while the fools in Ojai keep trying to kill the blackberries...the only thing invasive in creeks is the litter caused by people...

how anyone could kill a thing as beautiful as a blackberry plant is beyond me..these are wild edibles used by countless animals and the notion that they "choke" native plants is nonsense....CHOKE ON THIS BABY!!!

so what I'll do is head on up to the creeks and scatter some seeds!!!