There was a raspberry bush in a park near my house where I grew up.  I’ll point out this was very much a suburban park but we would go pick those raspberries during the summer months.

What is so immensely satisfying about this little act of foraging.  Perhaps it takes us back to our original days searching for seeds and fruit to sustain us?  Perhaps it is just simple pleasures that allow one to take something off a vine and be rewarded with that little pop of natural sweetness.

Fast forward a number of years and what do I find in my little garden plot right in Manhattan?  You guessed it.  Welcome back childhood.

The community of people who built this garden put in a raspberry bush for all to share.  In the evenings after watering my plot, I can grab a few berries and just pop them in my mouth before heading back to my apartment.

What I also failed to see for the longest time were 3 blueberry bushes that seemed to blend right in with the other plant life.  I only found out when I saw my neighbors kid picking some.

Now that Summer is in full swing, other community plants the neighbors had put in years ago are starting to bear fruit.  There are the sweetest grapes and a peach tree with it’s branches starting to weigh down and ready to be picked.

My cherry tomatoes are also starting to ripen and one of them wrapped in a fresh basil leaf on the way to work in the morning is a breakfast like no other.