My attempts at coming up with creative post titles may be going a little too far…. But “Berry Pie” just sounded boring…. Although some people may have been more likely to read this if that had been the title…. Hmmm…….
In other news!
Poor little fishies. They never saw it comin’. 
My dad came home from his fishing trip today- he caught three fish, one of which was 17 inches long! Pretty cool!
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Since my dad loves berry cobblers and pie, I decided to make a Blackberry and Raspberry Pie for dessert at our Father’s Day lunch tomorrow at Papa and Faye’s house.
Today kind of got away from me (slept in a leeettle too late this morning- whoops), so I finished it at about one in the morning.
Not the prettiest pie around, but hopefully it tastes good!
I used a combination of recipes/instructions from Baking Bites, Pioneer Woman, and AllRecipes. My adapted recipe is below.
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RECIPE: Blackberry and Raspberry Pie
Filling Ingredients
5 cups blackberries and raspberries, mixed (I used partially-thawed frozen berries)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Crust Ingredients
1½ cup Crisco (I ran out of Crisco, so I used about half Crisco and half unsalted butter)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter or fork, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
3. Put the dough in a plastic bag and place in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.
4. Separate the dough into two balls. On a floured surface roll one half of the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to your surface use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
5. With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.
6. Roll out remaining pie dough into a flat circle, with about ¼-inch thickness.
Roll it in a circle, as though preparing a double-crusted pie. Transfer the dough to a small cutting board, baking sheet, or other rimless pan that will fit in your refrigerator.
7. Carefully cut the dough into strips approximately ¾-inch wide. You can use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or scallop-edged pastry wheel.
8. Cover the pastry strips with plastic wrap and place the pan of dough in the refrigerator to relax while you prepare the pie filling and transfer it to the pastry-lined pie plate.
9. Mix filling ingredients together in a bowl and pour into crust.
10. When you’re ready to weave, moisten the rim of the pie with a small amount of water. Start with the longest strips and lay the first two in an X in the center of the pie. You can arrange them at 90 degree angles or at a sharper 45-degree angle. Alternate horizontal and vertical strips, weaving them in an over-and-under pattern. Use the shortest strips for the edges of the lattice. If you’re having trouble removing the dough from the cutting board or pan, roll the strips up like a rug and unroll them onto the pie. Press the ends of the strips firmly to the lip of the pie and trim away any excess dough with a knife.
11. Once the pie has been covered with the lattice, brush the top with egg wash (an egg beaten with a tablespoon of water or milk) or milk for a brown, shiny crust.
12. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 50-60 minutes, until crust is golden all over and filling is bubbly and thick.
Cool completely before slicing to give the filling a chance to thicken. Pie can be reheated, but if it is sliced to soon, filling will be runny. Enjoy!
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Workout (and bird paparazzi story): I went for a short (about 1 mile) walk/run this evening down my street and back. As I was running, I noticed a little bird sitting on the ground. I figured it would fly away as soon as I got near it, but I literally came within about two feet of it and it didn’t move! So I stopped to investigate. I’m guessing it fell out of its nest up on a nearby telephone pole, and was still learning to fly. He didn’t seem hurt or even very scared. He was so cute, and I didn’t want to leave him there because there were lots of red fire ants around him. Luckily I had my new smartphone with me so I looked up what to do with a fallen baby bird. Apparently since he was a little bit older, he would be fine and his mother was probably nearby. But I was worried the ants would get him because he was just sitting there. I also noticed that what looked like another baby bird was near him, but it had died and was being eaten by ants. 
So I picked up my cute little guy and tried to find a place to put him that wasn’t swarming with ants. I set him down, and though it was hard to do, I continued on my run.
In that picture he’s totally looking at me like, “Leave me alone already, you bird paparazzi!”
I hope he’s okay, but there wasn’t really much else I could do. I guess it is all just part of natural selection (“survival of the fittest” and such), but if it would have been the best thing for him, I totally would have brought him home and taken care of him. But I know that he is much better off trying to survive with his bird family. 
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I hope everyone has a wonderful Father’s Day! I love you, Dad!
Stop and Smell the Wildflowers 