the sweeter or juicier the fruit, it seems, the thornier the branch. this bristly, spiky gooseberry cane is ready to defend the tender berries it will grow next year. i still have a mostly guileless, sensitive boy on my hands, despite his recent eleventh birthday. he still worms over onto my shoulder while he reads himself to sleep. He still reaches for my hand when we walk, and he likes to wander dreamily around the back yard. he still kisses us goodnight with unselfconscious, pooch-lipped pecks. there are times when i feel like a gooseberry branch, needing to be a little bit extra fierce to protect my tender fruit from the forces of the world that would pluck him before his time.

american gooseberry cane with peeling bark

grass lake trail, saint paul, minnesota