Blueberries

Blueberries are at their peak now.  I don’t seem to have the gusto to pick that I used to.  I used to pick steady for the day.  Now, I pick a couple berry rake fulls of berries, which I found takes an hour, then come in and drink coffee and read and listen to the radio for an hour.  I did this four times so got a few gallons of berries.  Our blueberries and blue huckleberries have worms in them and so you can put the berries in water and this makes them come out.  It takes awhile to get all the leaves out and then pick the berries out of the water little by little by hand and flick away any worms.  I’m sure you never get them all, and I’m sure the berries are healthier for you with the added protein.
I did some good reading of 1970’s era Alaska magazines, when the pipeline was being built, before the permanent fund dividend existed and long before it became the focus of state lawmakers and their constituents, and when the magazine was as much for Alaska residents as it was for Outsiders.  Regular people writing about their canoe trip down the Yukon or the elder basketball game between Kotzebue and Noorvik.  
The blue huckleberries weren’t even much started two weeks ago and now are coming on strong and will be ready to pick in another couple weeks.  
Got a half dozen crab in the pots, most of which I gave to a city worker who has been running ragged helping to manage the covid virus situation. For the most part, it seems our town has pulled together to try to control the virus, and it’s good to see.  

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