I decided to sneak out this morning and do a local walk with a lot of vertical in a fairly short distance, avoiding people as much as possible, getting a little climbing fitness in and seeing some stuff.

On the way up, I realized this route had high raspberry potential. Wild raspberries are a real treat and one of the few consistent berries we get here in Colorado. It requires the right amount of sunlight, moisture and open terrain. This particular mountainside checked all the boxes. Let’s see what we find.

About halfway up the climb, I hit the jackpot. There were raspberry bushes upon raspberry bushes, more than I’ve ever seen in this area. It wasn’t quite like the berries up north, but they were tasty and copious. I feasted for a bit and made a point to bring home some to Elaine, so I filled up a plastic bag and was on my way. Hording all the berries to one’s self does not a good marriage make!

I managed to avoid people for the most part and had a nice conversation with a couple of ravens perched on a tree in the forest. Using the Merlin app, I conversed with them in their own language. They looked interested, before getting bored with the silly game and flying onward. Of course, who knows what I was saying? Better stick to my own tongue around those characters.

Yesterday I was looking for evidence of autumn. Today, it was berry hunting. I think tomorrow I’ll go find some snow.