Raspberry surprise

The fields have been so muddy I haven't been looking in on the berry patch much, but I received a nice surprise yesterday when I found some nice looking raspberries. I didn't think I would have any the first year.

Speaking of berries, we went on a hike in the Smokies yesterday with our son, Lem, and his friend from Minnesota, Alice. We hiked to Andrew's Bald from Clingman's Dome where the altitude is getting close to 7,000 feet. We were amazed to find flame azaleas in full bloom and the blueberry bushes just beginning to get a little fruit. At that altitude the area seems to be about six weeks behind us.

I saw blueberry bushes seven-feet tall. It makes my puny little flatland blueberries look like pavement-crack weeds.