Framboises! and chicory Last weekend I attended a wedding in West Virginia. The ceremony was held on the banks of the New River and afterwards many of the wedding guests went rafting with the happy couple.

I felt more in the mood for a walk, so went off on my own. To my absolute delight, as I was driving down the river-road, I spotted black raspberries. I had a lovely little ramble and saw some pretty and interesting things, but the high point was definitely the berries. Here in NC, blackberries grow like crazy, but I haven't seen raspberries growing wild like I was used to in Maryland.
Oh, they were heaven to taste!

I also got a decent shot of a flower I've been meaning to photgraph, something I called a cormflower while growing up but which I suspected was chicory instead. Indeed, it is chicory, which is very cool as I really enjoyed drinking a coffee-chicory blend the few times I've had it.

So, reading about chicory just now (great site, by the way), I realise it's a relative of the dandelion, which I probably would have guessed if I'd looked at the leaves instead of always focusing on the flowers. But now I can see the resemblence between the petals (or 'ray flowers') of the chicory and of the dandelion relative I photographed earlier.

I think NC must be a bit too south for chicory as I don't recall seeing it down here very often. I should experiment with the roots to make a good hot drink. I suspect that if we do become completely self-sufficient, Bill isn't going to build me an entire greenhouse to grow coffee in :)

But speaking of coffee, I do want to look into a NC native plant, the Yaupon Holly. I love hollies anyway, and I was very excited to learn that there's a caffeine-producing variety native to North Carolina.

Just be glad I'm not posting the pictures - or footage! - of the sewage treatment plant I passed. It had a raceway for aeration, and I thought a friend would like pictures of a raceway system, so I got some nice ones :)
    ¶ 6:49 PM