A few Wild Blackberries are starting to turn dark and ripen here, as you can see from this image of part of our favorite bush yesterday. And, after this image was taken, the few ripe berries on that bush had mysteriously disappeared. (Delicious!)
The ripening seems late this year. By about this time last year, about 50 percent of the berries that I saw had ripened:
Leighton Archive Image
Differentiating Wild Blackberries from Wild Raspberries can be difficult for the average person who just is taking a recreational walk. But, there’s a simple way to do so: Pluck one of the berries and turn it over so that you can see where it was connected to the vine. If the berry’s center is hollow like a thimble, it’s a Raspberry; if it is “corked” like a jug, it’s a Blackberry. Don’t worry about eating that cork. Brooklin, Maine)