Berry picking

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Yes - wild b;ueberries are tiny & oh so sweet and tasty! It's only the cultivated/farmed ones that are the big fatties - and not nearly as tasty IMO!

Thanks Kay for the Haskap link - interesting - not too many places in Ontario have them - but I want to learn more! My yard is so shady, I imagine not a good fit for berries.

We were at another market today - prices there for strawberries were better - $4.00/quart or 2 for $7. Got raspberries & cherries tho! And CORN!
 
Yes - I was actually meaning that I saw the bushes available at a few Ontario nurseries - I've never seen any actual berries!
 
Nancy said:
Has anyone been picking strawberries, raspberries or blueberries this summer? We just spent the day picking, and then dealing with, strawberries. Tomorrow, at the rehearsal dinner for my niece's wedding, we will be serving strawberry shortcake. Yum.
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What did you serve to people like me who are allergic to strawberries?
 
We had white cake, ice cream and cookies besides. Everyone loved the fresh strawberries (served with real whipped cream), and I didn't hear about any allergies. My son has a peanut allergy, so I'm always very aware of nut allergies...not so aware of other allergies, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.
 
It could easily be that only one meal is served Jae. Often it is too complex to prepare individual dishes for adults with various allergies. Many of them will have experienced this before and will bring food with them just in case they can't eat what is offered. Others just don't eat the food that will make them feel ill.
 
So I went out earlier this morning to collect some huckleberries

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Something made me decide to go across the street and, remembering the fire that I phoned the fireservice aboot last year, I found a trail and followed it, picking huckleberries here and there. Slim pickins.

Then I found out where the fire had possibly been. And I was angry. And glad I phoned. There was a ring of evergreens, their bark on one side black & charcoal some 80 or so feet from the ground up and some remnants of burned 2 x 4s.
 
I just picked about 3 cups of raspberries from my bushes.
I'm quite proud of my little raspberry orchard - I grew it from nothing over 10 years.
My neighbours had sorry raspberry bushes trying to grow next to their fence. The bushes produced runners
that came up on my side of the fence. I let those runners grow, and I fed and nurtured them.
Now, 10 years later, I have a lush little orchard of raspberries that produce all we can eat fresh
plus plenty for freezing for jelly.
 
KayTheCurler said:
It could easily be that only one meal is served Jae. Often it is too complex to prepare individual dishes for adults with various allergies. Many of them will have experienced this before and will bring food with them just in case they can't eat what is offered. Others just don't eat the food that will make them feel ill.
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All true. Still - as was done in this case - it's nice when the host provides an alternative so that one and all may join in the celebration.
 
Since all of us all on this thread seem to enjoy the romance of berry picking, I thought I'd post one of my favourite poems, about the romance
of berry picking.

Berrypicking (by Canadian writer Alison Mitcham, 1994)

Before choosing a mate
I would need to have him
as my berrypicking companion
all one summer
from the time
of the first wild strawberries
till the cranberries and blackberries
were frost finished

Then I would know
all about his character

Whether he persevered
despite blackflies and sunburn
Whether he picked
the berries clean
or carelessly
tore off the leaves as well

Whether he stayed
to fill the pail
or bored
by the buzzing loneliness
of field or wood
left it half filled
and went off
to join the others
in the house

Whether he worked
with ease and pleasure
at my side
or angry
one day
that I had almost filled my pail
and he had not
pushed my hand
so that my berries
spilled upon the ground
and were trampled underfoot

Should he pass
all these natural tests
of berrypicking
I would know
he was just right for me
 
Love, love, love the poem GO3838! My husband is a persistent, and efficient berrypicker. Especially when we do our annual run for blueberries. He can pick twice as fast as I can, which takes the pressure off me! I pick slowly, clean, and lovingly.... with no pressure to perform!
 
It is a lovely poem, isn't it? I've often done it with my English classes.
However, the students find it challenging to make the the jump from concrete to abstract in this poem.
I'll ask: "So what is the speaker testing for in a mate when she mentions the blackflies and sunburn?" and I hope to get
"Someone who gives up when the blackflies show up is someone who won't stick around when the going gets tough" or
"Someone who picks when sunburned is someone who is focused on the goal" or "Someone not easily distracted."

Usually the first answer I get is "The speaker is testing whether the guy is organized enough to bring sunscreen and Off."
(And then I thought that was a very legitimate thing to test for.)
 
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