Gathering season comes to an end.

As October nears, two great things happen, gathering season ends and homeschool begins.  We began our gathering season with two varieties of raspberries, wild and domestic, and rhubarb. My son and I started a wild raspberry patch a couple of years ago and this was its second year of producing the beautiful red berry.  Our patch did not produce enough for our needs for the year so we supplemented with more wild berries and some domestic berries. While searching for a new area to berry pick we came across a small organic u-pick farm for raspberries and rhubarb. This farm uses the honor system and two nights we harvested $40 worth of both domestic raspberries and rhubarb. The first night we spent out in the field was pure heaven sampling the berries as we picked.  Six buckets were filled to the brim of the juicy red berry.  Some stalks of rhubarb were picked also. My 19 month old grandson joined my son and me on our second trip.  Once again, buckets of berries filled to near over-flowing and stalks of rhubarb were gathered.  The boys and I went on many wild raspberry hunts in the woods near our house.  We became so obsessed with the berry that I carried buckets and a jug of water for those unexpected trips into woods we drove by.  This year we were able to gather 2.5 gallons of rhubarb, 3 gallons of domestic raspberries, and 6.5 gallons of wild raspberries.

Blueberries, the Alaska blueberry, were our second berry to pick.  In Alaska, blueberry patches are a closely guarded secret.  Those patches closest to your house will never be shared with anyone. Well, luckily I have a great friend who shared his secret spot with me. One day, my son and I joined our friend to his secret patch and we picked 3 gallons each of the succulent berry.  I had blueberry fever. I made many trips to a dome, 24 miles from my house, and then another 6 miles were driven down a 4-wheeler trail to pick the the best blueberries in the world. On two occasions I even shared my favorite spot with 2 different friends. This year there were so many berries that many were left to fall to the ground to reseed for next years harvest.  After all the blueberry gathering was complete, 10.5 gallons were collected and stored in my freezer.

The last berry of the gathering season is the low-bush cranberry. Picking this berry signals the end of the harvest, start of school, and the beginning of our winter. I had berry picking fever so bad, that not only did I pick for my family, but I picked for other families.  Yesterday, 9-22-13, was the last day that we berry picked. We were out in the snow with family and friends, gathering what we could before the sun set.  9.5 gallons of cranberries have made their way to my freezer.

Soon, I will be making jams, jellies, sauces, breads, muffins, pancakes, waffles, compotes, syrups, and anything else I can with the berries we gathered. With each bite we will have memories of picking the great harvest.