Oh, yes, I've never seen so much berries to pick in my whole life! Not even here in a place where berry bushes grow wild in the fields. Every summer since I came, I've been picking different kinds of edible berries, a kind of leisure activity that I do enjoy. This summer is certainly a time of epic abundance.
First came the wild strawberries (smultron in Swedish), the sweetest and tastiest of the berries. We picked from the countryside, but I also pick from our potted ornamental plant. Why should I let them shrivel there for aesthetic sake when they're so delicious to eat? Ha-ha!...naughty me!
Then came the blueberries (these are European blueberries which are different from the American ones). We used to hunt for fields and forests in the countryside where we could pick them. But this summer, we discovered a spacious pine forest with blueberry undergrowth just close to our residence. And they were overflowing with ripe berries! Since then, we've been picking from there until we're exhausted.
I also stumbled upon a cloudberry (hjortron in Swedish) field in the ski trail area not far from our unit. By that time, somebody had been there to pick the ripe ones. I stopped by for a sec to pick just one for my photo specimen.
Now, the prevailing berries are raspberries. These wild bushes grow everywhere and anyone can pick to his fill. Even if somebody has already harvested, more berries get ripe the following day, so there are always berries for all who would love to pick.
We've picked so much blueberries and raspberries that we had to freeze most of them to the extent that there's no space left in our freezer to stuff more berries. We're also giving away some of our harvests.
So now we have an ample store of berries that would last for some months. But what should we use them for? Muesli breakfast, cakes, smoothies, ice cream, etc.
Should we pick more? Probably. It's not just about accumulating but it's about the joy of picking. We can give some to the elderly or sick friends who are unable to pick. And we can always have something fresh to eat day after day until all the berries in the field have been picked. But I think much will remain unpicked and wither on the twigs.
Such super abundance is just a foregleam of the wonderful new world that our loving Creator has promised to his faithful ones. (Psalm 72:16)
Linking up with
No comments:
Post a Comment