Stained fingers can testify that the Huckleberries are ripe at lower elevations.
Red, dusty blue and black. Whether they are subtle variations in the same berry, different levels of ripeness, or a different sub-species I don't know but they are all very good. I have heard it said the indians had many names for huckleberries, maybe they knew more about them than we do.
Mrs. Wags & I joined a couple of the girls this afternoon and went several miles up the road to some state ground, where my wife's family has picked berries for over 40 years. The semi-open southern slope has just the right amount of ingredients for a pretty fair crop of berries. For our two hours of picking we brought back about 1 1/2 gallons.
While I always like getting out in the woods but I am not a marathon picker. A couple of hours and I am ready to call it quits. I wouldn't be very good at picking berries for a living. On a good day I might make $30. If desparate and in a really good patch I might be able to pick twice that many.
Have you ever noticed that wild roses sometimes grow in amongst the huckleberries?
Red, dusty blue and black. Whether they are subtle variations in the same berry, different levels of ripeness, or a different sub-species I don't know but they are all very good. I have heard it said the indians had many names for huckleberries, maybe they knew more about them than we do.
Mrs. Wags & I joined a couple of the girls this afternoon and went several miles up the road to some state ground, where my wife's family has picked berries for over 40 years. The semi-open southern slope has just the right amount of ingredients for a pretty fair crop of berries. For our two hours of picking we brought back about 1 1/2 gallons.
While I always like getting out in the woods but I am not a marathon picker. A couple of hours and I am ready to call it quits. I wouldn't be very good at picking berries for a living. On a good day I might make $30. If desparate and in a really good patch I might be able to pick twice that many.
Have you ever noticed that wild roses sometimes grow in amongst the huckleberries?
Yum!
ReplyDeleteI love fresh picked huckelberries!
I wouldn't make too good of money picking...
I eat half of what I pick!
I know,Shel, me too. But at least I wouldn't starve! =)
ReplyDeleteI had so much fun I was contemplating going back today!
I read a Spokesman article some time ago that the true "Huckleberry" only grows in the Southwest United States and the that the berries up here are wild varieties of blueberries. People really get grumpy when I mention this, but there are lots of varieties - I only care aout how they taste anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed the same things as you mentioned as well. My favorites grow in shady spots, under trees and such; but they don't normally produce many berries. The highest producing bushes can be sweet and jucy and big, but still lack a particular huckeberry flavor that I like.
As far as the picking goes - I love it when they are plentious. Otherwise, I get frustrated and bored... ...start wandering around, run into bears and stuff... ...oops, I think I hear someone yelling and doors closing...