Life is like picking blackberries ...

you have to fight a lot of thorns, but the reward is so worth it.

Last night Eric and I went over to the nature trails in Umatilla where there are a bunch of wild blackberry bushes. Though it is early in the season, there were a fair amount of ripe, juicy berries prime for the picking.

We picked enough to put in some homemade ice cream. We played in the water a bit to, watching the sun sink closer to the horizon.

Then he showed me the nature trails in Irrigon. Those were bizarre, but probably held probably one of the best beaches in Umatilla County. We got to the sandy shores just in time to watch the sun tuck itself in. The color were amazing. The waters cool and shallow. We walked out into the river, toes in the sand. It was truly bliss.

Before heading back to make our delicious desert we hit a taco stand - my first ever. These things dot the county, and I've been meaning to go to one since I moved here. I loved it. There was covered seating right by the shack and the guy barely understood english, let alone when I asked him to hold the raddishes. Luckily I know this guy who happens to be fluent in espanola. The lettuce was left on, the raddishes were left off.

We made it back to his house where we got the ice cream going in the machine and ate our tastey taco treats (and cleared out my sinuses with a fiery jalepeno).  

The ice cream turned out to be my best batch yet. Thick, very creamy, with a perfect berry to icecream ratio.

It was really kind of a perfect evening.