Friday, July 31, 2009

Huckleberry's

Took a drive in mountains this week and spotted a nice hill of huckleberries. We climbed a small hill to get to berries, you notice I said small hill. Getting up hill was fun but coming back down nature seemed to want to pull you over head first and roll you down the hill. Mosquitoes were not a problem as long as we were in deep woods but coming out to where the sun was shining they suddenly appeared out of no-where. Some as big as a horse. We probably picked about 5 cups enough to make muffins this winter. Huckleberries only grow above 3500 feet and are the size of a pea. Berries can either be tart are sweet. When a patch is found it is kept secret as where you found them. Probably one of the best kept secrets in the USA. And never ask anyone where they found their berries. I have heard that the going rate is $50.00 a pound. Sounds like a lot of money but more work than I would want to put into picking berries. I am not selling mine but keeping for family. I did share a few with friends who want to make syrup to put over ice cream. Huckleberries only grow above 3500 feet and are the size of a pea. Berries can either be tart are sweet. When a patch is found it is kept secret as where one found them. Probably the best kept secret in the USA. The secret life of a huckleberry is interesting and to much to write about here. Picture shows what bushes look like and berries hiding under the leaves.

1 comment:

Lynda said...

When I was very young growing up in Washington, my mom and I and a couple of her friends and their kids would hike up into the hills and pick huckleberries all day filling several buckets. By the end of the day we were scratched, hot and tired but had a great time laughing and picnicing. The next day we would make huckleberry jam for hours. It was great fun. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories.