The early bird gets...the blackberries
(Answer to the question: Where is the art? Presser Hall on the ONU campus.)
By Mary Pannabecker Steiner
One of my brothers lives in the mountains of Virginia where he regularly picks a variety of wild berries on his runs up the mountainside and into the woods. This never really impressed me because I don’t like blackberries and raspberries so why bother picking them?
Or at least that was my perspective until I heard Hank Shaw talk about hunting, fishing, and foraging your own food. Shaw, the author of “Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast”, offers advice to anyone interested in taking a more active role in determining what they feed themselves and their families.
Ironically, during a recent run I was listening to Shaw’s conversation on a Splendid Table podcast. A few minutes later, I stopped near a favorite rock to take a break. There, within an arm’s reach, grew a rambling bush of wild blackberries.
I grabbed a few, shoved them in my shorts pocket for my husband and decided to return later in the week to pick more. The next day, the destructive derecho windstorm swept through our part of Ohio, replacing those visions of blackberries with downed ancient trees, power lines, and a week of struggling back to normality.
Stories Posted This Week
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026
Thursday, July 16, 2026
- Norma Mathews Wilhelm was an elementary school teacher and homemaker
- July 27 blood drive at Ada Community Visiting Nurses
- Alger Public Library BBQ fundraiser tickets on sale
- July 18 Dog Days of Summer event in Kenton
- New communication platform adopted by Ada Schools
- Cancer screening in women: Recommendations, trends, and solutions
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
- Ohio EPA issues Air Quality Advisory due to Canadian wildfires
- UPDATE July 15 boil water advisory lifted for 700-800 blocks of S. Johnson St.
- Murder trial of Donna Jo Miller postponed until December
- June 2026 Hardin County rainfall reports
- Sept. 22-24 Farm Science tickets on sale
- Beatitudes serves 136 meals on 4th of July