Berries, Bears, and Backwoods Folktales

 

 

I went wild blackberry picking today! This involves hiking up the logging roads into the hills way out in the middle of no where. Wild blackberries have a very short season and every year I miss them. This year I was prepared, but had no idea where to go and most locations are guarded secrets. I finally got some tips from locals.


It's scary being up in the woods alone! One of my neighbors told me of her encounter with a bear while picking blackberries. She doesn't go anymore. I'm more worried about bad men or ticks or snakes.

Every summer as a little girl my grandparents would take us blackberry picking. Each year as we hiked up the hills, over logs, through tall grass and stickers, running wild as children do without fear, we heard the story of our great, great uncle who when he was sixteen years old took his trusty dog with him hunting. Alone. He never came home. A year later they found his remains with his devoted dog still by his side. There was a stick through his eye. The legend has it he must have tripped, the stick went through his eye, and into his brain. Although they assured us he was killed instantly (maybe), I was more horrified about the dog, "How did the dog eat and stay alive for that long?" The lessons were not lost on us: never go up into the woods alone [or you'll end up like Uncle Teddy], watch where you are walking [or you'll end up like Uncle Teddy], and take a dog [so if you die like Uncle Teddy you have a trusty companion to keep you company until they find your body]. To this day every time I'm up in the woods alone, I think of that story. Every step I take, every stick that snaps, I think of Uncle Teddy.

Anyway, I hiked alone, sans dog, for miles. Never saw a bear or a bad man, never encountered a rogue stick, and actually found some berries! So peaceful and beautiful.

 

Wild blackberries are much smaller than the common evergreen blackberries so they aren't as easy to find. They are often on a slope or hill. One of my friends said her mountain-biking son saw them out on the trails, so when I came upon a very steep hill with bike tracks I decided to go up it. So steep I kept sliding. My greatest fear is I'd slide and drop my bucket of blackberries! I probably should have been more nervous about breaking an ankle, or encountering a stick through the eye.

The blackberries in the shade were much bigger than the tiny small-fingernail size of the others. I did find a few really nice ones, but because they are so elusive, I wasn't really picky. I believe they are organic since they are wild, but one can never assume safety. Since they were located up in forestry land, I don't know if the logging companies spray the trees.

 

Eventually I grew tired, but wondered, "When should I stop? How much is enough?" The measurement standard of blackberries is always "enough for a pie." Even though I can no longer eat pies [sob], I gathered nearly enough for a pie. Plus one perfect specimen of salmonberry.

I love the berry picking season! Friday the raspberry farm opens!

Yum!

Pick One, Eat Two: U-Pick Blueberries

Hidden on the opposite side of the bush I could hear the two young boys discussing strategy as they picked blueberries, "I pick one, eat two." He snickered and popped a blueberry in his mouth to emphasize the point. I couldn't contain my laughter and the boys both looked at me wide-eyed through the bushes as if they had been caught red-handed. Too funny.


Ah, the joy of u-pick blueberries!

This little farm is truly organic - no question about it. It is owned and managed by this incredibly gorgeous and earthy man who is a professional landscaper and agriculturalist. He bought the farm about the same time I bought my house. Prior to his ownership, two elderly women had it for many years so the bushes are well-established and the farm well-known. It's been fun watching him develop it over the years. The first year he eagerly designed a Medicine Wheel Garden filled with herbs and a very elaborate organic vegetable garden. Then he added a large goat pen filled with goats.

The second year I vowed I'd never return. He has three large dogs. I made the mistake of setting my blueberry bucket on the ground, picked it back up and didn't notice the dog shit on the bottom of it. There is nothing more disgusting than dog shit all over your hands especially when you are harvesting food you will eat. He apologized profusely and claimed he searches the blueberry fields every morning to remove the large deposits of grossness. And of course, I couldn't use the soaps they had because they were scented. What the hell do I do? It disgusted me so much I didn't return for a year and told everyone I don't eat blueberries fertilized with dog shit. Unfortunately, there are no other blueberry farms in 100 miles that are organic, with the quality of berries, and so cheap. At the time he was charging only one dollar a pound. I ended up returning, but I NEVER set the bucket on the ground and I always wear farm boots.

The third year he added a huge chicken coop and lots of chickens. Some of them are very exotic looking. The chickens wander the blueberry fields eating bugs and naturally fertilizing the plants. Chicken manure is the number one most potent fertilizer (rabbit is second, horse is third), but this is the only efficient way to use it without the mess. One of those chickens attacked me, pecking at my ankles until I kicked at it a few times and chased it away. Jeez. Never a dull moment! Between the dog shit, chicken manure, and attack fowl, sturdy farm boots are a must!


The fourth year he started participating in the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) which is an international organization for volunteer agricultural workers who want to learn about farming. They live and work with the farmer who provides room and board. From season to season, these volunteer workers travel from place to place, farm to farm. He had a young woman last year who told me when the growing season is finished here, she was going south for the winter to work on another farm in a much warmer climate. What a wonderful adventure!  This year he has roommates who are helping out instead.

The fifth year he found a baby crow and nursed it to health, hand feeding it hamburger once every hour. Edgar Allan Crow. HA! The sixth year when I came back Edgar Allan Crow would fly under the bushes and land at my feet waiting for me to feed him some blueberries. It was so freaky and surreal having a crow fly directly at you, like being in your own horror movie.

This is my seventh year living in the area and picking u-pick blueberries. The bushes were loaded, but unfortunately, he's only open on Saturdays this year which is why they were loaded, but that means the field is loaded with too many people. At one point there was no parking along his little driveway. That also means no ambiance. I can still hear people, but too much noise! People screaming and cackling at each other. A few were talking on their cell phones...no, screaming on their cell phones as if the whole field needed to hear their conversation. One woman was talking loudly and she had the speaker phone on so I could hear the person on the other end as well! One guy answered his phone, "Hello?" ten times!

"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Hello?" ...

I wanted to scream at him GET A CLUE, IDIOT! NO ONE IS THERE! This didn't make for a relaxing time. The owner told me to call him next week because he does have some people who can't come on the weekends so he'll be open on one of the weekdays next week.

But I did hear conversations that were interesting, from religion to recipes to blueberry tricks to bee keeping. And the owner told me Edgar Allan Crow hasn't been seen since last fall. He assured me Edgar met up with crow friends and they flew south for the winter and are now tanning on a beach. He also told me he used to put a large stick in the back seat of his car, call Edgar who would jump in the car and go for rides. He'd drive to his grandparents house to pick apples, let Edgar out who would fly around then he'd call him back to the car, Edgar would fly back into the back seat for the ride home. Amazing. Also, they'd go in the woods mushroom hunting together and Edgar would find the mushrooms for him. How cool would it be to have a pet crow? He also said some berry pickers as well as neighbors didn't like Edgar and said he should kill him. Unfortunately, Edgar was way too friendly even with mean people. BUT he assures me Edgar is on a beach...in California.

I grew up with twenty blueberry bushes lining one of our fields. I can say now although we ate them every year, I took them for granted until I moved away from home and no longer had free access to organic blueberries! Finding a cute organic blueberry farm just a few miles from my home was a gift.  And these blueberries are like nothing I'd ever seen! Some of them are GIGANTIC, nearly an inch in diameter. And sweet!

I normally start picking the first day the farm opens and go back every couple days for fresh blueberries. Slowly I stock my freezer with the extras. There have been times the summers are so cold the season is very short so I don't procrastinate. Today I picked 25 pounds! My freezer is full and it didn't take any time at all.

Blueberries are extremely high in antioxidants. If you look online you'll see wild blueberries are only second to red beans and regular blueberries are about fourth on the list also after a variety of beans. Blueberries have the highest level of antioxidants of any fruit.

I eat them plain and frozen. I also make fruit smoothies with them and use them to flavor my banana-almost-like-ice-cream recipe. In my former, gluten-filled life, I also made blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, blueberry pie, blueberry-orange bread, blueberry cobbler, and a delectable dessert from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook called Blueberry Buckle. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Someone in the field today was talking about Blueberry Buckle!

U-Pick Raspberries

It's berry season and time to head out to the organic berry farms for u-pick berries. This has to be my most favorite non-toxic entertainment of the summer. The scenery is gorgeous, the air is clean and berry pickers are always happy and smiling. My kind of environment.

I love the atmosphere in a berry field. You can hear people around you, but you can't see them. Their voices sound far away and echo a bit which adds to the ambiance. It's being alone with people. I enjoy that, strangely enough.

Every age group is out in the fields. Parents with children talking about the pies they will make,  teenagers picking berries as a summer job, seniors discussing their jam and jelly-making secrets.  It's fun to hear the grandparents teach the little ones how to pick:

"Be sure to pick the berries that are nice and red. No, that one is white. You know the difference between the colors white and red. "

 Or...

"Grandma, the bottom of my bucket is almost covered!"

"See, my bucket is almost full."

"Why do you have more than me?"

"Because you are eating more than you are picking." (hahaha)

I also enjoy listening to other people's conversations. They know everyone can hear what they are saying because of the echo, but no one seems to care. They talk about all kinds of personal things and lots of community gossip. People who live out of the area have come back for a summer visit with the family and a nostalgic trip to the berry farm. They often run into those they went to school with years ago. They talk about what they've been doing and gossip about everyone else.

These berries aren't mine. I was impressed.

The berries, however, are huge and it doesn't take long to fill a flat.

It took me about 15 minutes to fill these two containers. I don't pick a lot at one time because I like them fresh. I do freeze some, but once frozen I don't think they are as good. I still have a gallon in my freezer from last year.

Organic berries in the store are costing abut $4.00 - $5.00 per pint and don't look nearly as good.

My two containers weighed in at three pounds (about 6 pints) which cost $3.75 TOTAL. What a deal!

This farm is also a huge dairy farm with lots of gardens, too. This year the owner started a program with the local junior high and the students planned a huge sunflower patch. They look much better than mine! She said they use cow manure as fertilizer, but she didn't say what kind of slug killer she uses. Probably chemical-based? They do say their berries are organic....hmmm...but I don't know about the rest of the farm.  Normally you can hear the peacocks in the distance, but I didn't see them this time. The owner gives away the plumage when the birds are molting.

Next week my favorite berry farm opens: BLUEBERRIES!!

Entertainment, Part Thirteen: The Fresh Outdoors

Summer is almost here! There are so many wonderful things to do in the great, fresh outdoors during good and not so good weather. The advantage to outdoor entertainment is obviously fresh air, breeze, and wind preferably blowing stink away from the chemically sensitive person, but also movement. One is able to move about freely, away from toxic smells. Granted, smelly people encounters will be the greatest risk at public events, but once you learn to sample the air with shallow breathing techniques and move fast, it's not as dangerous as indoor and confined activities. You'll become very adept at holding your breath at a moment's notice and breathing deeply when able. I was told once by a doctor reviewing my labs that I don't breathe efficiently. Well, YEAH! Welcome to my world. We do what we can to survive.

I'll briefly list some of my favorite outdoor entertainment ideas here, but I'm sure as the summer progresses I'll write about many of them in more detail.

Organic Gardening Grow your own food, flowers, herbs, bushes, trees and oxygen-enhancing greenery. If you don't have your own dirt to play in, grow a container garden or find a community garden with fragrance-free fellow gardeners. (See also blog post titled "Entertainment, Part 2: Organic Gardening" and all other gardening adventure posts.) Potential Dangers: Mold in dirt, natural pesticides made from essential oils

Up close and personal!

Organic Farm Visitations  Many organic farms invite people for visits and give tours. Some will demonstrate farm activities such as cheese making and goat and/or cow milking, offer cooking classes, or provide petting farms for children. Others will sell their organic flowers and produce on site or demonstrate specialties like candle making, flower arranging, food preservation techniques or weaving. Local organic farmers are good people to know and support, and are often very aware and passionate about society's issues with chemical poisoning. Potential Dangers: Stinky people encounters.

Berry Picking  Find organic farms that provide u-pick berries or other produce. In my area of the country, strawberries are ripe as early as June, and blueberries and raspberries in July. Depending on the type of blackberry, they are ripe in July and August and free if you are willing to hike up in the woods. Apple, cherry, pear, and peach tree orchards often provide u-pick opportunities as well and neighbors sometimes offer free windfalls or gleaning. Potential Dangers: Stinky people encounters.

Farmers' Markets Support your local, organic farmers! Farmers' Markets are like outdoor shopping malls and entertainment rolled into one with lots of air. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters and smelly booths like scented candles, potpourri, or essential oils. Hold your breath and walk past very fast!

County and State Fairs  I LOVE fairs! I enjoy looking at horses with braids, cows with ribbons,  pigs with manicures and well-behaved dogs. I know someone who gives her chickens baths in preparation for the fair. Fluffs them up real pretty. I also like looking at local crafts, baking contests, flower exhibitions and fruit and vegetable competitions. Although I don't partake of the carnival rides or the junk food, the sounds and smells they provide add a certain ambiance specific to a county fair. Bring your own snacks and water. Potential Dangers: Smelly people, stinky booths and displays, non-organic flowers and produce exhibits, junk food, bathrooms washed in chemicals.

Festivals Art festivals, music festivals, ethnic/cultural festivals or any combination are in abundance during the summer months. One year I went to a mule festival. Yep, a three-day mule extravaganza. The baby donkeys were delightful! Search online for "festivals in [state]" and up pops festivals for the summer, for this coming weekend, for tomorrow. I have found some of the more popular festivals can be extremely crowded. If they last Friday through Sunday, Friday right when they open is often the least populated time. During the weekend, get there again right when they open, but expect you might need to leave by early afternoon. There is one festival in my area by 1pm it's wall to wall people with little room to walk let alone breathe. Still, these events are usually outdoors and in fresh air. If it rains, consider it a blessing - everyone stays home! Potential Dangers: Smelly people, stinky booths and products, junk food, bathrooms washed in chemicals.

Medieval and Renaissance Faires Historical recreations or re-enactments are incredibly fun and provide a very entertaining escape in an outdoor setting with lots of authentic costumes and colorful people. There are often arts and crafts demonstrations, dancing lessons, food from the period and palm reading, as well as jousting, dramatic performances, and music. I once went to a war! Yep, I said war! It took place on a mountain side far away in the country. We got up early in the morning, set up our picnic on the field, and watched grown men and women in costumes pommel each other with swords and clubs. Good fun! Huzzah!! Potential Dangers: Smelly people, smelly booths of scented candles, soaps, dried flowers, pesticides, fire smoke. (I always think it's odd people participating in re-enactments will use chemical perfumes, make-up and pesticides. I think they are missing the point.)

Parks I think many of us take for granted these simple outdoor entertainment areas often right in your neighborhood, in the middle of urban areas. Because so many take them for granted, they are often deserted! Check out landscaping techniques, specialized gardens, hiking trails, and walking paths. They may be used for picnics, sports, bird watching, wildlife observations, art, or playing on the children's playground equipment. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, pesticide and herbicide use

Beaches/Ocean Adventures Fresh air at its finest and miles of walking opportunities. Location selection will be important as not all beaches are created equal. Population, water quality, ground surface quality, walkability and sea life viewing are some of the variables. Potential Dangers: Secluded beaches are relatively safe in terms of stink, not in terms of lunatics and perverts. Overpopulated beaches in the sun belt will be crowded with sun tanning addicts drenched in smelly suntan oils and other stink.

Walking Go for a walk in your neighborhood or anywhere there are sidewalks or paths. Check out the houses, yards, gardens, trees. Meander, lollygag, stroll, speed walk, race walk, or even jog. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, pesticides, herbicides, other neighborhood poisons.

Camping Find a nice, secluded campsite that is safe in the woods, at the ocean, in the mountains, in the country or in someone's backyard. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, pesticides, campfires (See also blog post Entertainment, Part Eleven: Travel.)

Hiking If you have hiking trails in your area or close by take advantage of the fresh air and beautiful scenery of mountains and countryside. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, pesticides, restroom chemicals.

Excursions, Exploration, Sightseeing Become a tourist and visit local outdoor tourist sites: historical properties, ferry rides, outdoor historic tours, architectural wonders, natural wonders, and other places of interest. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, bathrooms washed in chemicals, traffic and car exhaust

Concerts Outdoor music performances offer a different listening experience with the sky above  and fresh air in surround sound. It's fun to crash on a blanket on the lawn and blanket space offers much more personal space in comparison to a seated arrangement. If there are problems with smelly people, you aren't stuck in a confined, pre-reserved spot. You can move! I really love Jazz or Blues festivals that are outdoors. Take your own food and drink so you don't have to buy at the snack bar. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, bathrooms washed in chemicals, pesticides/herbicides used on lawns.

My favorite guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-9zG4KzLHs

(Not a great video with that tag across the screen, but I couldn't get the good video to download. Hopefully, this one works!)

Solitary Sports Swimming in an ocean, lake or river. Cycling on bike paths. Roller skating on park trails. Soccer ball kicking on fields. Jogging on trails or tracks. Potential Dangers: Smelly people encounters, traffic and car exhaust, synthetic track surfaces offgassing chemicals, polluted water.

None of these activities are totally fragrance-free because so many of them involve people. Pick and choose what you're limitations allow and learn to breathe shallow and move fast!