It is berry season up here right now, it is actually winding down. Leah manages to escape to the hills most evenings and always brings back some blueberries. One evening after about 5 hours of picking she managed to bring a couple of litres of them home. Now most of my friends from places like La Ronge and other blue berry hotspots are probably thinking "What was she doing for the other 4 hours and 45 minutes?", but this is the High Arctic. Berries are small, and even on the good years there are not a lot of them.
I arrived here on the 19th of August (seven years ago, incredible! I’ve lived here longer than any other spot, except Roblin where I grew up) just at the start of the season. I remember giving a couple a ride back to town. They had been out berry picking and I hadn’t even realized that there were blueberries up here. Great I thought I can get some and bake a couple of pies. "How did you do?" I asked, to which they replied "Great. There were lots" and held up a small margarine container about half full of small berries. Okay forget the pies, maybe I’ll make a couple of muffins.
But you adjust. The berries here may be small, and not as sweet as those down south, but they still pack a lot of flavour in that small package. And I do have enough to make that pie now.
Last night was another beautiful evening, so after we stopped to watch the sealift activity, Travis, Hilary and I drove out to the hills near the liquor sign and hiked up to visit Leah who was out with her cousins and friends. They all stopped for a break when we got there so we enjoyed the evening and the scene for awhile, ate some of the berries and then headed back to town.
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They look like they were enjoying theirselves too much. I’m pretty lucky. My back yard is full of berry bushes. The pickin’s is getting slim right now though.