Buddy and other dogs you can’t trust with berries

Zann Miner
Published: June 18, 2008

Summer on the farm has always been full of mystery and adventure for me, though there are those who would claim that my idea of adventure is pretty humdrum by current-day cinematic standards. But who cares, adventure is in the heart of the participant. Please, read on to experience the thrills and chills of a day in my life on the farm.

First, I must explain about my dog, Buddy. He becomes an absolute basket case when the thunder starts to roll and lately there have been not one, but two storms per day. They used to tell us that thunder was just the angels bowling. Ha! The thunder of late isn’t the work of angels, it is the entire NFL fighting the owners for more money.

When Buddy gets upset he begins to chew; we are talking shoes, towels and an occasional door if it will get him inside the house. He has even been known to get inside my car, but that is another story. The point is that I plan my day around the storms; to insure proper residential management, I must be home. Lately, I have been staying at home quite a lot.

I write, garden, mow the lawn, create new plant beds, attend to long-overdue repairs, bushhog the pastures, pay bills and when the mood strikes me I tackle a room filled with 40 years of accumulated clutter. Thank you, Buddy, after 43 years I finally discarded those oh, so special prom dresses.

Sounds pretty mundane, I know, but I haven’t told you of the cool and quiet mornings about 5 a.m. or the rose colored air at dusk. During these incredibly peaceful periods, if one blends with the landscape they share, the adventure begins. I have seen turkey, bear, eagles, hawks, fox and too many ground hogs.

As humans we tend to take an undeserved pride in our scientific and engineering accomplishments. Watch a beaver take down a tree or build a dam, gaze on a flock of geese landing on water-wheels down, reversing engines. We are not the first with such achievements; it is both humbling and inspiring. But on to a few more tangible gifts of summer those delicious, nutritious, wild and organically-grown berries.

Each year is a little different depending on the rain, temperatures and other foragers. As long as I can remember, picking blackberries was a staple of summer activity.
We worked hard to keep the fields and fence lines clear, but could often find those juicy delights along the creeks. Ah, yes, there is the occasional critter and I never pick without a dog along. Buddy likes to go, but he is not as into it as some of his predecessors.

For years I was blessed with the most loyal little Llewellyn setter who loved nothing more than to hunt. The entire time I was picking, she was hunting and was very, very good at it. If there was anything else alive out there it was gone or otherwise occupied by the time I reached the spot.

Then there was Petunia, a stray I agreed to keep temporarily for a friend. Petunia knew immediately upon arrival that she was home and gave us 12 years of companionship and amusement.

Petunia was always eager to go blackberry picking for one reason; she was rather fond of eating them herself. She was a small dog, so I left the berries on the lower branches for her consumption.

There was one incident where she placed our relationship in serious jeopardy. I had discovered a tiny batch of wine berries, sometimes mistaken for red raspberries. I did not want to mix them with the bucket of blackberries so I placed the delicacies in a Dixie cup. I spotted a few more requiring both hands to wade into the thicket. Upon my return moments later, I discovered Petunia had devoured all the berries from the cup I had set on the ground. Maybe she thought I had put them there for her as reward for her loyalty. Oh, well, lesson learned. Petunia could not be trusted with berries.

I am already out of space and have not told you about what I discovered yesterday evening while out foraging for berries. Suffice it to say, this is going to be a great year for jams, cobblers, berry shakes and freezing goodies for winter.
Until next week.

Zann Miner, former director of the Museum of Culpeper History, can be reached at or write Zann Miner c/o the Culpeper Star Exponent 471 James Madison Hwy. Suite 201 Culpeper, VA 22701.