One of my hobbies is keeping a “Nature Journal.”  In it I draw what I see, glue photographs I’ve taken, write down my wildlife observations, and philosophize to myself about nature and my relationship to it.  This entry accompanied my drawing of some blackberries on my last trip home to Oregon, a year and a half ago.  Blackberry season in Oregon is my favorite time of year, and I am never more at peace than when picking berries or observing wildlife in this season.    

      Getting this particular drawing involved getting down into the middle of a fairly large blackberry bush.  Having the natural grace with which I have been endowed, I was particularly careful regarding my footing.     Nevertheless, it ended up being an excursion of which Patrick F. McManus would have been proud.

     I was doing fine for the first several feet, seeing as how, in my youth, I had had much experience with blackberry bushes.  However, my next step involved a “one-legger,” resulting in my sitting down rather abruptly on the sharpest thorns God ever created.  However, I was determined to make it to the middle of the patch, so, extricating the thorns from my tender nether regions, I pressed on.

     Several dainty and heroic steps later, the inexplicable happened – another “one-legger,” followed by the “McManus pack-flip,” which would have been accompanied by a “half-twist” if not that my pack was so heavy and the thorns in my backside so sharp.

     After assessing my situation for a few minutes, I decided this location would do as well as any other, particularly as the thorns only hurt when I attempted to remove them.

     I spent an enjoyable 7 hours in the blackberry bush – drawing, eating berries, and observing the wildlife.  If my camera worked right, I got some good pictures of various bees on the blackberry flowers.

    A small bird came to within 6 inches of my shoulder, but I couldn’t identify it without turning my head.  Also, a pretty little field mouse delicately made its way past my toe.  Neither of these was at all alarmed by my presence.

 Note:  for those of you who don’t understand the Patrick F. McManus rating system of falls, I highly suggest reading his books!