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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Bring on the Berries...

I need a vacation from my vacation. It was so great to see old friends and family, but I got back on the plane wanting more. I wish I had planned a longer stay.  I had forgotten how beautiful those Keweenaw summers really are. Although the Keweenaw days are long, they are much longer here in Alaska. There is no sleep to be had during the Alaska Summers,  there are berries waiting for me.  As they say, "Make Hay while the Sun Shines". I can't think of anywhere that saying is more fitting.
I hadn’t held out much hope for Cloudberries this year. In previous years we have had tons of flowers, but very few berries. This year I thought I would probably be away on vacation when they finally showed up. Somehow, this year everything aligned and I made it back just in time. I’ll be getting back to real cooking soon, in the meantime I’ll be out berry picking, and digging out the canning jars, and turning these beauties into jam.

At first I had them tied to one tree, but Arrluk managed to pull the whole thing down and come running down the boardwalk with Brody still attached. During blueberry and cranberry picking I let them roam free to eat berries. Cloudberries are too few and far between to have them eaten and stomped on by the dogs.
They forgave me after they got a big swim on the way out.

4 comments:

  1. i hate to be the silly girl that asks... but cloud berries? ive never heard or seen them.. are they like a variety of something or something completely separate? im from Australia so maby there just not available here..
    hannah

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    1. Rubus chamaemorus is native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. It is often said to taste like baked apples, or a sweet wine.

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  2. Do you think that cloud berries would grow in the great lakes region...we live in WNY and grapes grow well here and we have blueberries and raspberries in our yard. I would love to try the cloud berries too.

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  3. Do you think Cloud Berries would grow in the great lakes area of WNY....grapes grow well here and we have blueberries and raspberries in our yard. I would love to try cloud berries.

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