We had to go and see a man about a dog. Well it wasn't really about a dog...that is just what my Dad used to say if I wanted to know where he was going. If I asked him what he was doing, he always seemed to be making a wig wam for a goose's bridle. I never did work that one out.
Anyway, we had to go and see some bloke on the Murrindindi Road, out the back of Yea about something.
On the way back we stopped by the river and after about half an hour, the Cook's left leg was wet up to the knee, I had a muddy bum, we were both mozzie bitten, had scratches up our arms, purple fingers and a container full of....
B L A C K B E R R I E S
Now I have to go away for a few days...I wonder if these will magically turn into jam while I am away?
It's funny, but I never thought there would be wild blackberries in Australia. I somehow associate them only with England (Yes, I know this is unreasonable).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, our whole family would spend days scouring the hedgerows and coming home with vast quantities of blackberries. I remember one year we made 76lbs of Blackberry jelly. Goodness only knows how many pounds of fruit that required!
Mmmmm what a great find!!! Have a great few days! :)
ReplyDeleteOne could certainly hope. Lovely berries.
ReplyDeleteAnd will said jam ever be making it's way over to me? I feel slightly teased with all your lovely fruit and jam making activities...
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of giving banana jam a try?!
I had to laugh Hazel, because the man and his dog and the wig wam for the goose's bridle were exactly what I used to hear, both from parents and grandparents when I was apparently being too nosey! And the blackberry experience was one I used to enjoy too.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! Best wishes, Leonie
Blackberry jam, yum!
ReplyDeleteMark, blackberries are a noxious weed in Australia and are are chocking our waterways and parts of our bushland. The seeds are easily carried by birds and we do don't have the extreme winters to curtail their growth, The various authorities carry out spraying each year but they will never ever be controlled.
A well known botanist introduced them to Australia!
Caesar
Our family made wig wams for gooses bridles too.......and I am sure that gooses name was 'Aloysius Dicky Bart..'who often ran around with 'nin on over nothing' whilst visiting 'Aunt Fanny from the Fowl house'.....
ReplyDeleteAnyway.....those blackberries reminded me that we didnt get back up to the national park where there were mountains of green ones a months or so back....We used to spend afternoons getting ripped to shreds as kids picking blackberries...great fun...enjoy that jam...x
When Mark said that I thought, "Funny, I never thought of blackberries growing in England. And then I thought the exact same thing--now how stupid is that. Blackberries here grow beside the road but when I was a kid we went into the woods and had our favorite blackberry and raspberry groves, where bears were always watched for (in New Hampshire) just in case. We never did see one but we saw where they bedded for the night. My mother never did make jam which makes me wonder now since she canned everything else but I think jam took too much sugar. Anyway, we just ate the bowls of blackberries ourselves and it was a treat too.
ReplyDeleteAh memories!Our early settlers introduced rabbits,blackbirds, rats, mice amongst ohter things we could do without.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder about the wigwam for a goose's bridal.Love it! I collect goose sayings as you might expect and I'd forgotten this one.
'Ninon over none on' was one of my dear Aunt's, she explained ninon was a fabric, one of the first synthetics way back.
yummy, why is it I can never find wild blackberries anymore. They used to be everywhere in the hills around Adelaide, but not now I am very jealous. Hope you get your jam Hazel.
ReplyDeleteThere must be a dad handbook for old sayings, my dad used to get my hopes up just a teeny bit every time he said he was going to see about a dog, we were always asking for one but he never came home with the goods!
ReplyDeleteGood work Hazel, have you any idea what they are charging in the greengrocers' for these?
ReplyDeleteI used to hear about the wigwam too or else we would be going to "see Mrs Fanackerpan".
My Mum had dozens of those sayings and lately I find myself using them. It took me years to discover that she wasn't discussing dogs. My grandkids just look at me like I'm a bit weird. Obviously smarter than I was.
ReplyDeleteI love blogging. I never know which posts will prompt comments. I thought this was a bit of a, ho hum post...but clearly the reference to the old lingo has stirred others' memories. I am on a bit of a one woman mission to keep alive some of the old sayings and the Aussie slang. I have enjoyed the feedback!
ReplyDeleteWe too had lots of visits to men about dogs - disappointingly none used to end up with a dog coming home until I was in my teens!
ReplyDeleteWe have a cultivated blackberry on our plot which produces huge berries - the downside is that I still have to prune it and it fights back! We should have got a thornless variety.
Oh, yum! Don't you just love a spontaneous forage! I was on a bike ride yesterday and noticed we have a few hedges in our area ripening up nicely! (Love that saying about seeing a man about a dog too!) :)
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