Right around the middle of July until the 3rd week of August it's game on. The blueberry bushes here in Upstate NY, are chock full of those delightfully tasty, nutrient and vitamin-packed, anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy, disease protecting, gorgeous, little purple marbles.
This year, before our first visit to the blueberry patch, the question I asked myself was, "I wonder how many more years we have left, where we will be able to make the jaunt?" As much as I hate to admit it, our physical abilities are waning, The trek to the blueberry patch is not like a walk on the beach, obstacles abound and the terrain is anything but a shuffle zone.
For the first time, our safety while on this hike has become a concern of mine.
Safety first, was not always the way I approached things, but "The Times They Are A-Changin".
Before our first venture out, we discussed the need to play it a little safer.
Our game plan was to slow the heck down and be mindful of every single step.
With this new game plan in mind, as @farm-mom and I have done for the past five years during this awesome display of #Mother #Nature's beauty, we ventured off into the woods and picked, and picked, and picked some more.
A good day of picking blueberries goes something like this.
9:00 AM - Jump on the four-wheelers and ride about 1/2 of a mile to the stream, pictured here.
Cross the sparkling, ice-cold water and hike about 3/4 of a mile to a field of blueberries that
makes your heart beat a little faster, as you start to contemplate the bounty that could be.9:30 AM - 1:30 PM - With your fingertips, you gently roll the berries, releasing the ripe ones
from their stem, sometimes gathering 8 to 10 at a time.
By the time 4 hours have passed, yourarmsbody is weary from reaching and stretching in every
direction while trying to capture every single berry in sight.The sun is now beating down on you and the bugs are ready for a meal.
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM - With our bounty in hand, we hike back to our four-wheelers, and make our way back home.
I don't know if you have ever eaten wild blueberries, but for me, the difference in taste and texture of wild blueberries and the blueberries I used to purchase in the store, is like night and day.
Their size may be smaller, and we all know why.
They are pesticide-free and you know what that means for you and me.😁
Pests there are many, but still there is plenty.
Our #Feathered #Friends eat from the same bushes, serenading us while we collect what has brought us both here.
Our goal is to fill seven of these containers every time we go on our blueberry adventure.
With all of the rain we have had this summer, the pudgy blueberries seem bigger than ever before.
2:00 PM - 4:30 pm - We remove the berries from the containers and lay them out on paper towels to absorb some of the moisture that has collected.
The next step is to remove all of the debris from the berries and lay them out on a tray.
The blueberries are then frozen as is.
On average, a 7 1/2 hour day yields 6 pounds of blueberries.
With a full day of hobbitizing in the bank and the little blue marbles now experiencing "THE BIG CHILL", it's time for us to chill as well.
This year we were able to hit the blueberry trail on 6 different occasions.
Our grand total for this season is 33.5 pounds, vacuumed packed, and in the freezer. 😁
No mishaps this year 😁, so with the Lord's grace we should be able to do it all again next BLUEBERRY PICKIN SEASON.
Some great advice!
I miss not having abundant forage. We have some natives here, but they aren't as delicious as what we used to get in England.
Your post has been featured in the Lotus Garden newsletter, which will be published tomorrow.
You've been curated by @minismallholding for Natural Medicine's homesteading newsletter, supporting gardeners, permaculturalists, foragers, environmentalists and other earth centred relationships with the earth.
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46 years ago, when we purchased our property, the thing that immediately caught our attention was the lush vegetation that grew under an old-growth forest.
Some things have changed over that time, but not much.
Thanks @naturalmedicine, it's always an honor to be featured in The Lotus Garden Newsletter.
@minismallholding, thank you once again for taking time out of your day to curate this post, always greatly appreciated!
Too late to upvote, but I do love this post Bob, although I was beginning to think there was something you weren't telling us:
😈
I was wondering about your painted nails, then surmised it was Robin, not you 🤣
Now, I wonder why after all this time, if the bushes are on your property, why you haven't contrived a way to drive across that stream with your 4 wheelers, thereby reducing your risk and the work involved in toting those buckets?
If the location is a secret known only to you two and the critters, I can understand.
We used to have a fair sized patch of wild blueberries when my family moved to the woods, but they were in a swampy area, very congested with briars and brambles.
Then, down on the river bottoms, if you looked for them, there were Huckleberries. Bushes were totally different, the fruit LOOKED like blueberries but much smaller so you had to get a WHOLE bunch more of them. Mama would typically make cobblers with both of these things, as the bounty you are describing was never available to us. In the woods that is. I had a cousin not far across the river whose husband had planted rows of blueberry and grape. Then he died, and the things all just went wild, still on the fence line where they were planted, but not tended nor pruned.
I hope you and Robin @farm-mom can enjoy this activity safely for years to come @thebigsweed
iluv !luv (can't remember which one does it)
←Reblogged→
The bushes are not on our property, but rather Robins cousin's property. Over the last few years, I have been transplanting bushes from the location we now visit, to our property.
I have about 30 bushes now about 50 steps from the house.
It will take several years for them to start producing berries and until then we will make the trek to the patch about a mile away.
Thanks for the reblog my friend.
The reblog may not help for an older post, but I enjoyed it so....
I'm glad you have made the transplants, I hope they survive and quickly begin to produce for you two.
You guys are two of my favorite peeplez. 🤣❤️
Thanks my friend, what a nice reply
It's the truth. I hope one day to be able to see you two in person.
I like the idea of vacuum packing. Here, we just throw them in freezer containers.
Vacuum packing is the best. Packaging this way and then storing the goods in a deep freezer works great.
We are still eating the last of the blueberries from 2020, and without a shred of exaggeration, the berries taste as good as the day we picked them.
DO IT UNTIL YOU CAN'T DO IT ANY LONGER.
Those berries are so yummy. I will track into those woods with you anytime. If you can, I will pick 'til we drop, they are that good, plus it's so peaceful there and I just love being with my BF. 😍
Being hitched to Jackie O'Silver has been the trip of a lifetime.
I think I do recall tying the knot with you 46 years ago today.
Happy anniversary my darling.
DARLING, Now that's a word you don't hear too much anymore.
hehehe AND what a knot it is! So glad you remembered (for a change) . When do I get my very expensive, personalized gift? Have you wrapped it yet? Ohhhhh I can't wait.
You are going to LOVE my gift to you, very special this year.
Tell you what, stop by our special place at 4pm, I have an exquisite bottle of wine I want to share with you.
Happy Anniversary, DARLING .😁😘
Cool to see a fellow NYer on here. Where are you in Upstate NY? I'm from the Albany area. We used to pick wild blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries all the time near my home. You would end up with pounds of berries for free. It was awesome.
Hello fellow NYer, nice to make your acquaintance.
We're from the Southern Tier area.
Free is always a good thing.
Blackberries and raspberries also abound here. It was not a very good season for them, but in the past, we have gathered them until our arms are bleeding.
They both make a great base for all kinds of applications, blackberry vinigerette salad dressing is the best, not bad on ice cream also. 😁
You are so blessed to have your own blueberries to pick, a really nice haul my friend! You and your lovely @farm-mom really are living out your dream retirement, enjoy 🤗
Gathering blueberries every year is something we look forward to.
Besides the wonderful berries, the day spent being surrounded by nature is just awesome.
When we depart, a sense of inner peace that one feels is remarkable.
Oh my, I see in that one photo that you had your nails done in a nice psychedelic red color 🤣
You guys are really the best and you live a life of dreams that so many others are pining for. Please remember to put a blueberry pie in the post for us when you start your blueberry bakery 😜
We were out an short break in the Drakensberg mountains some years ago and I saw a flock of Guinea Fowls eating something down at a river. So I followed them and discovered a trove of blackberries. Rushed back to the bungalow, got a bowl and picked it full of blackberries. Didn't count on the thorns though and my hands were a mess hahaha.
You certainly live in a wonderful place.
Cheers and !BEER
I'm glad you liked the color, it was a toss-up between the sparkling red and the forest green.
For us, dreams have become a reality and we never take a moment of this time for granted.
We all know things can change on a dime.
It's funny you mention blueberry pie, it's my all-time favorite.
When there is a blueberry pie in the house, no plates are necessary, I just leave it on the counter with a fork next to it. Whenever I'm in the vicinity I take a big old mouthful.
I hear you with the hazards coupled with picking blackberries.
Sometimes you'll get caught up in a bush and by the time you work yourself free, you're bleeding like a stuffed pig.
I hope things are getting somewhat straightened out in your neck of the woods, if not, remember to keep your head down as much as possible.
God Bless!
Personally I think a midnight blue would match the blueberry picking better.
I almost ended the above sentence with the word "darling", but I know not to push my luck with a big strong guy 🤣
First off I also want to say to you that we also sincerely appreciate your constant and great support to our charity cause.
Yep, I will take uncle Kentucky Fried's slogan here and say "Blueberry pie is finger licking good"
Thanks for the tip of leaving it on the counter and guaranteed that I will give it it go, but I don't think that pie is going to last very long.
Oh yes, you also know all about those thorns and I watched the Guinea fowl using their beaks like tweezers to pick the fruits. Not one thorn could grab them.
God is in charge of out lives my friend and it certainly makes things easier to bear.
Blessings also to you and Lady Robin.
!BEER for you and !PIZZA for the queen of your heart.
That's the exact reason I decided on the red. The blue looked too much like the berries and I didn't want to chow down on my fingertips, thinking they were berries.
Supporting the @papilloncharity is our pleasure, knowing all of the great things you guys do is a refreshing breath of fresh air. With all of the bullshit that seems to be engulfing mankind
it's people and organizations like yours that give us hope!
By leaving the fork next to the pie, the pie doesn't make it past the second day.
Thanks for the pizza and beer, always greatly appreciated my man.
Makes total sense to me, but what do I know about such things 🤣
We live in an evil world my friend, as the war between the principalities and powers in heaven continues and the dark continues to run rampart in this world.
But one thing we a know is that it's all in God's plan as the wheat and the chaff will be separated, so all that we have to do is to stay in God's will. (Do not partake with the dark)
It is the Lord that gathers his children by making contact between them in these dark days. So we thank Him for your support.
Building you cellar with !BEER and tell Robin to watch her figure with all of the !PIZZA.
@thebigsweed! I sent you a slice of $PIZZA on behalf of @papilloncharity.
Did you know you can earn $PIZZA through Hive-Engine Diesel Pools? (3/10)
When you said wild, I thought "lowbush" but nope, they are wild highbush. We used to pick up to 90 - 100 lbs of the lowbush ones each year. Not this year....
It's funny you mention lowbush and highbush blueberry plants.
Prior to really getting wrapped up in this gardening thing and becoming somewhat knowledgeable, I ran into some lowbush plants and thought that they were just young blueberry plants. The dam things never grew up. 😁
They are also all over the place. When we're picking, we'll take a break now and then and sit on the spackle buckets we bring with us. While we're sitting there, the lowbush plants are at your feet and the berries are begging to be picked. So much for the break.
What a lovely post! I'm so happy for you both, the blueberries, the living your dream, the anniversary (darling comments between the two of you), the love.
I see you are living your dreams in NYS's southern tier. I am moving to Alleghany county soon. I would love to connect if you are near me, and if you do that sort of thing. So few do these days...
Thanks for stopping by.
These past 46 years have passed in the blink of an eye, I hope the next 46 slow down a little bit.
Let's see, 68 + 46 = 114, by then I would imagine things will be slowed down permanently. 😁
Good luck with your move. Moving is always a little stressful and exciting.
Keep it up and live your life to your fullest. This post really resonated with me.
I'm not sure there's any other way to live!
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What happiness to try that fruit of nature, here in my country it does not arrive, or they are extremely expensive, I only remember their taste when I was in Argentina ... blessings.
We stumbled on this area about ten years ago while hiking. Since then we have gathered as many as possible every year and usually have packed away enough to take us to the next season.
Thanks for stopping by.