The mint in the strainer bowl sitting on this chair, I took inside and spread of drying racks. Sometimes I cut it long enough to tie it in bundles and hang it. When it's dry I break the leaves off the stems and put the dry leaves in glass jars.
We stopped and picked up neighbor, Kathleen, and headed up to our berry picking place, which is about 23 miles from home. Kathleen's husband, Gregg, works during the week, so he couldn't join is. This river is the Stillwater River, which has it's headwaters above where we pick, and it flows all the way down to the Flathead valley, through Kalispell, and into Flathead Lake.
Huckleberries. Each of us picked close to 2 gallons today. Kathleen, of course, kept hers for them, and Steven and I brought ours home. I covered them with cold water in their pails and left them out on the porch. It's been getting down close to 40 degrees at night, so they'll keep nicely. In the morning I'll clean the sticks and leaves out of them, then put some in the dehydrator. Only about half will fit in the dehydrator, so I may can the rest of them, or make jam or syrups, and certainly another pie!
Once while I was picking I looked up across the valley, and this is what I saw.
No, that's not Sasquatch, that's Steven picking berries!
This doe went through a clearing above where I was picking.
Steven stops to look around. The berries are in the woods, and if you find berry bushes around the edges of clearings like this, the berries will be small and dark and shiny. The large, dusky-purple ones are in the shady places.
I'm waiting for one of you sharp readers out there to email and tell me what those flowers are! I heard from Burma and Ron this morning that the red berries in with the huckleberry pictures from last week, are "Twinberry". I looked it up and it says they are inedible, and they are of the Honeysuckle family.
Kathleen picking berries. Notice the slope of the ground? We stood on that for 6 hours today, and it gets hard on the feet. Your foot pushes down against your shoe and the edge of your foot starts to burn! That, plus an aching back from bending over to pick! Worth it though, for the gallons of wholesome, organic berries! Over the winter as we eat pies and muffins and pancakes made with them, we'll remember those idyllic hours spent in the fresh air and sunshine on a mountain slope!
Steven on the other side of me, picking berries. He prefers to use a smaller container and dump it in the bigger bucket as it gets full. Kathleen and I used 2 1/2 gallon buckets.
Steven took a picture of me taking a picture of the scenery! 
And there's the scenery!
And more scenery!
On the way home this deer was along the highway near Murphy Lake.
And he's getting out of here now! Huh...no pictures of the kitten or the goatling??? Maybe tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment