Blueberries

Blueberries

It's blueberry season again. Yesterday we picked 3 quarts of blueberries from 2 bushes and another several quarts today. The first bush has smaller berries, are flavorful and prolific. The second bush produces a smaller quantity of blueberries, but they are 3 times larger than the others and much sweeter and juicier. It doesn't matter what. I eat blueberries almost every day and it is good that these are free.

I did say free. Well, I had to pay for the bushes 8 years ago and then we had to put fences around them to keep the birds and squirrels away. Come to think of it, I guess they aren't free. But they are so much better than store-bought blueberries.

Instead of eating an apple today, I ate a half cup of blueberries. I froze some that I will use when the cost of blueberries will skyrocket. I don't know about the rest of the country, but in North Carolina a package of blueberries less than a pint will run about $3.99, sometimes $4.99, in the fall and winter. I have many more quarts to gather and will enjoy them until they no longer bear fruit.

Wildlife

Wildlife

Yesterday was a great day for wildlife. Right after it rains, we get more rabbits, squirrels, turkeys and deer than at any other time. Yesterday was no exception.

We have about 12 acres of land around our property that has to be mowed and thujas are planted in the distant front yard. As I was mowing, I saw a tiny creature appear and thought it was a rat, but it turned out to be a tiny bunny. It was so cute and kept running back and forth, not knowing which way to turn. Finally, I finished mowing that section of the yard and I saw the bunny hop between the thujas.

Usually in the winter and spring we see dozens of turkey, but in the summer only a few turkeys appear. Sometimes only one will appear and it looks so lonesome. When those birds fly, they are majestic. I have seen them fly over trees that are fifty feet tall.

I took no pictures of the squirrels because I get so irritated with them. They ruin my blueberries and fruit trees. Putting fences around and on top of the blueberry bushes are time consuming and expensive. Somehow those pesky creatures make their way to the bushes, but hopefully not this year with the new fence.

The deer have been scarce this year because everyone in the neighborhood has grown corn. Hopefully, that means they will not be around to eat the tops out of the day lilies or munch on tender young tree leaves. I like watching the wildlife, but I can do without the destruction they bring.

Which Blueberries to Buy

Which Blueberries to Buy

To me, blueberries are the perfect berry. They are full of antioxidants and are, usually, juicy and flavorful. However, in the winter, few options are available as to which countries to buy from. In the spring, summer and fall, blueberries can be obtained from the United States and Canada. Call me prejudiced, but from the fruits and vegetables reported in the news, those from Mexico are not the ones from which I wish to choose. Too many times have vegetables from Mexico been tainted with salmonella.

In the winter, when I buy blueberries, the only options I have are those from Argentina or Chile. The tops of these are from Chile. The ones I have bought from Argentina are full of bug bites and are not flavorful. Maybe, because I have been to Chile and know that the people are wonderful, I have no qualms about buying my blueberries from Chile. The berries are flavorful and lack the bug bites as those from Argentina or even Canada in the summer months.

This week I bought some blueberries from Chile, which had a sticker which said Easter Island. First, I must say that the sticker itself brought back pleasant memories of Easter Island. This is a wonderful place and, if my readers have never been there, it is a place that should not be missed, not only from the sites, but from the people themselves. But I digress. The blueberries I bought are large, juicy and flavorful.