Blueberry Fever

This year has been one full of “firsts” Firsts, I find, are amazing at making you feel alive and vibrant, and when you fail, they often guarantee chuckles to keep you going. When you are faced with downsizing, or simply choosing to live a fuller, more conscious life, trying new things enhances personal growth and change.

  Late last summer I noticed a few lonely wild blueberries on a bush near our home. “Interesting,” I thought, “I’ve never seen these before.” They’d been there all along, but for years I had passed them by. As I inspected further, I found a rather large clearing full of blueberry bushes, and while the season seemed to have passed at that time, I was determined to keep an eye on them for the next harvest prospects.



This year, true to plan, I have been monitoring those blueberry plants like a hawk, watching them produce tiny beautiful flowers, and then amazingly, watching the flowers fade and close to form tiny green berries. Days turned into weeks, and the green berries gradually began to change color, from bright green to reddish purple, and finally to dark blue. 

Wild blueberries flowering in April.

Wild blueberry bushes do not produce nearly as many berries as cultivated varieties, and the berries are generally hidden under their branches. The berries also do not ripen at the same time, so I found myself spending quite a bit of time searching for ripe berries day after day, practically hugging the forest floor on my quest. I had it in my mind that I would make my first ever batch of jam, but two days into picking, I had only a quarter of a cup, while I had enough mosquito bites to form constellations.
               
 Before I could get discouraged, though, my children caught the blueberry fever and would follow me out each morning to inspect our patch. “Oooh, I found a juicy one,” I’d hear as we hunkered down and searched the low branches. “Don’t eat that!” I would respond, “Every berry is for the jam!”  “OK, mom,” they would always respond, smiling and popping the berries into their mouths.
               
Finally, a week later, we had collected enough to make a small batch of spreadable goodness. As I was preparing it, I thought back to all of the fun we had working hard for our booty of berries. We spent time together, found a baby praying mantis and a woodpecker, got an education in how to properly apply insect repellent, and saw nature at work. When the moment finally came to sample the jam, I spread it on some toast. It was phenomenal. Holding the tiny jar in my hand, I reminded myself to savor every hard-earned bite.

 

The final product: SCRUMPTIOUS!

During our blueberry fever days, while on a search for more of the shrubs, we found three rather large huckleberry bushes positively loaded with bright green berries, so now we are watching them like a hawk and discussing our first ever wild huckleberry pie. Next it will be an inaugural blackberry cobbler and finally, a maiden voyage into making Muscadine juice, as we watch and wait for summer’s native harvest to come to fruition.
               

I am constantly amazed at how much I have grown and changed over the past several months. Trying new things has opened my eyes to activities I thought I would never try, much less enjoy. I have grown my first tomatoes, planted my first cherry tree, and even shot my first pistol.         
        



It was Albert Einstein who said: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” I hope this post inspires you to open yourself up and give something different a go this summer. Happy experimenting!