Several miles from us there used to be a swamp that covered several hundred acres, in it were huge blueberry bushes that produced the best blueberries. Since the Nature Conservacy owned the swamp it was open to anyone who wanted to venture inside it's spooky boundaries on foot and pick blueberries.
It was tricky trying to decide where it was safe to step without becoming bogged down, adding to the challenge we also had to be on the alert for bears who also enjoyed wandering in to eat their fill of blueberries.
Every summer we would take several evenings to go pick blueberries. We would hitch our horse to our open buggy and set several five gallon pails on the back. We would each take a piece of twine and tie it to an ice cream pail which we then hung from our neck, that way we could pick with both hands and get done so much faster.
Once the pails on the buggy were full we would head for home where we had to painstakingly sort all the berries and get them ready to can pie filling the next day. A good evening of picking would often yield a hundred quart or more which we always enjoyed eating during the winter. Nothing beats the flavor of big juicy wild blueberries.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
That sounds like such an adventure with a YUMMY ending!! I kept wondering if there were alligators too? Although bears are scary enough :D
ReplyDeleteI was waiting to hear about an encounter with a bear. Did you ever meet any?
ReplyDeleteA hundred quart of blueberry pie filling sounds wonderful. I need a nice warm piece of pie and some vanilla ice cream, right now!
Oh, yes, I agree! Nothing beats blueberries - I love them! I went picking this morning, but just for an hour because it got too hot, but I'll be going back early in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI guess there's safety in numbers because if there was a bunch of you going, the bears would have not disturbed you (I would think) only my concern is snakes... that's why I don't pick blackberries that grow here in the woods everywhere...the underbrush is too dense and the rattlers are in there waiting for birds that eat the berries.
I love your stories!
Have a great day :-)
Makes me miss home! We always hung buckets around our necks and picked pounds and pounds of blueberries every June. We moved to the other side of the country this year and we're getting used to a whole new climate. I hear we'll be able to get wild strawberries in a couple of weeks though!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning!
ReplyDeleteWe so look forward to blueberry season here in Maine! Doesn't come for another month or so here...right now we are just picking strawberries! Aren't berries just the best!
Blessings,
Laura
What a wonderful memory! Your post has my mouth watering as blueberry pie is my absolute favorite.
ReplyDeleteI love this memory. We used to travel into the mountains to pick blueberries. One fall while camping with my husband and small son I went out early in the morning and prayed the bears were all someplace else while I picked a big cup of berries. I brought them in and made fresh blueberry pancakes. The smell of them sure woke up the family.
ReplyDeleteBlueberry picking is one of my favorite memories! My grandmother had a 100 acre farm and most it had gone wild, lots of blueberries.
ReplyDelete