Raspberries shine in the morning light.

I love fall. It is my favorite season. Sadly in Alaska it's also the shortest season.

I generally refer to the "two weeks of fall" that we usually get. That's probably selling it a little short, but it certainly doesn't last anywhere close to three months, and it's nothing like autumn in the Lower 48.

Here, fall is short but sensational. By early September, the unending rain of August is but a memory. Sure the days or shorter, but the sunshine is beautiful, the leaves turn a beautiful golden and there are raspberries.

That's the point of today's blog -- raspberries. My backyard is full of raspberry plants. They were in the yard when we bought the house, but raspberries have a tendency to multiply and ours certainly have.

Just a small portion of what I picked from the backyard this morning.

To me, one of life's simply pleasures is heading into the backyard with a small bucket and filling it full with the beautiful red fruit.

Alaska isn't like other places. It's a challenge to grow some things here -- apples and corn and tomatoes were Midwest staples. Here they're a unexpected surprise if you manage to grow some. But my raspberries produce year after year with little effort from me. This year, I finally decided to do a little thinning and cultivating and the berries are better than ever.

So here's to autumn, memories of apple cider from home and even fresher memories of raspberries on my morning oatmeal.

-- Steve

Raspberry plants dominate my backyard ... and I'm fine with that.