Blueberry Adventure

I was just in the garden picking the first fruits from our new blueberry bushes. For years we couldn't grow them here as they require more cold days than we have. Finally some hybrids have been developed for our area and, if our first taste was any judge, they will be much better than those we can buy in the stores. It reminded me of a time when I was young and we went on a fishing expedition deep in the forests. The weather that weekend was glorious and the spot they chose to leave the van was heavenly. A small meadow surrounded by trees. While my dad was fishing, our mom decided we should explore the woods. The trees were mostly firs and left the forest floor nice and shady,and was cushioned by fallen needles. There were occasional small bushes scattered here and there. We came to an open area and to our surprise discovered wild blueberries. Now wild blueberries are not like the ones you buy in the store. They are much smaller and extremely sweet and the parent plant is more like a vine on the ground than a bush. We ran back to the cars and grabbed anything we could to put them in. Back to the berry patch we went and, on our hands and knees, began picking the luscious fruit. All was quiet as busy hands plucked berries. Then we heard a rustling coming from the forest. Mom looked up and indicated that we should be very quiet and there, standing up, was the biggest brown bear I'd ever seen!! We grabbed our pails and quickly and quietly left the berry patch for the bear.

When we got back to the van we all got inside and locked the doors in case the bear decided to follow us. After a time we got out of the van since there was no bear in sight. I can only assume that he loved blueberries as much as we did and was too busy feasting to give any thought to us. We were quite satisfied with our spoils and all had a tasty afternoon snack.