6-29-10

YOU SAY TUH-MAY-TOE

I SAY TUH-MAH-TOE

CARROTS GONE TO SEED

LARKIN MAKING COMPOST TEA

SALMONBERRY JAM

Sure our day was filled with farm activities, but we had salmonberries on the brain. After working we took a bicycle ride to the beach, which is only a few minutes from here. But we never made it.

There is a creek that runs along the rear edge of Larkin's property. Sunday, as he was giving us the grand tour, he showed us this area and we spotted bright orange berries of goodness. Unfortunately, there were only a handful, and the steep slope into the creek made them inaccessible. Crossing a different part of the creek was in the back of our minds as we rode to the beach and we hoped we might come across other salmonberry bushes. Aaron spotted a few orange orbs and we stopped short to grab them. Although there were salmonberry bushes aplenty, only a few berries were ripe enough to eat; but we were delighted to have a snack. Back on the road, we headed again to the beach. And again, twenty feet ahead of our last stop, we screeched to a halt. This time, we happened upon more berries than we could count. We got to picking and immediately realized there were many more berries than we could hold but we had no way of transporting them. Pockets were too risky, as the berries would surely squish and become juice. Quickly Aaron sped back to the house and immediately returned with containers to store our foraged bounty. SImilar to blackberry bushes, salmonberry bushes are full of thorns. Scratch us as they may, the thorns could not deter us from diving into the thick of it.

Berries in hand we abandoned the prospect of the beach, too fearful the berries would "melt" into juice in their plastic, non breathable containers. Peddling home elatedly, we managed to spot two more small patches where we filled our containers to their brims. Back at the house, jam was in order. We considered baking a pie, but we decided to make jam today and forage for more berries tomorrow and hopefully make a pie then. If we can't find any more, we'll be able to enjoy the salmonberries slightly longer in jam form.

After talking about wild crafting for months and having to wait out the winter, and trying our hand at finding edible mushrooms yet discovering only poisonous ones, it was incredibly satisfying to find edible berries today. We were positive they were safe before consuming them, and we knew it was only a matter of time before they were ripe. Sure, we are craving fruit, fruit, and more fruit. But somehow finding a new fruit in the wild was so much more invigorating than purchasing it from the farmer's market.