Tuesday 28 July 2020

Lost and found (again...)

On Sunday we were berry picking with sister. We found cloudberries (ask Ikea), blueberries (bilberries), bog blueberries and raspberries. I fell on swamp ditch, and I lost my glasses. It was a very warm day, so even if my right boot weighed a ton with bogwater, it was a nice trip.

When I'm talking about blueberries, I mean bilberries. Here in north they are called blueberries (in the Scandinavian languages Vaccinium myrtillus is called blåbär (or blåbær), which literally means blueberry. Therefore many Scandinavians erroneously call bilberry blueberry when speaking English. Ikea Blåbärsylt has bilberries pictured on the label).

There is suble differences in blueberries and bog blueberries. Bog blueberries have a distinct starshape crown at the end, while blueberries have a rounded end. And to add more confusion, North American blueberries have that starshape, too. And "our" blueberries are dark blue/purple through, bog blueberry and North American blueberry are pale inside. Also shape is different. Bogs on left, bilberries on right.


But yes, I can't cope without my glasses (they are reading glasses, and as I work mainly on computer/laptop, they are important to me - and I can't clean raspberries without them - can't see worms...)
So off to woods we went again (on monday with sys and ys who were bored to death even before we reached the edge of the swamp) and YES I found my glassess! Also more blueberries, bog blueberries and cloudberries. I hate foragin berries, by the way.

Black rimmed glasses are not easy to spot on ground.


But the trip was successfull and timing was perfect, this was the sight when we got out of the woods. 20 mins later (5mins after we got home) rain begun. Still raining. This is wet week.



From the garden I have been picking black currants and strawberries. I paid 20€ for 20 strawberry plants last summer, and so far this summer I have got more than 5 litres of strawberries (last summer I got maybe 1l), and they are still producing. Doesn't sound much, but to me it is, I've never been able to grow strawberries before! As strawberries are about 3-5€/l, those plants are already paid themselves after this summrerk  

This is a poor year for currants, one of my bushes is empty, one has few berries, and only one produced "normal" amount of berries. My mother's bushes have few berries, but hb's parents' have none. And they usually have loads. Fortunately I can pick our neighbours currants, so I might be able to get my mother enough currants so she can make cordial for the winter. You know, winter is coming...

I have got one patch of sugar snap peas to freezer, but peas are just flowering now. Might be a while before I can harvest them.
I think I need to fill up my freezers and pantry this summer/autunm, because Covid-19 cases are on the rise again in Europe. It is not granted I can buy veggies and fruits during the winter.

1 comment:

  1. I am filling my freezer and pantry as best as I can now in readiness for the Winter months too.

    ReplyDelete