Berry Picking on the Fourth

The week of July fourth I traveled to my family's cabin in the mountains of Surber, VA. It was an awesome time of hiking, biking, ranger riding, kayaking, and fishing. This trip I also tried wood chopping, which was both a great exercise and stress-reliever. I went berry picking with my sister, and wrote an article to be featured in the local Oriskany Grapevine newsletter.

The week of the Fourth, my family stayed in our cabin near oriskany. We do this every year, and I'm always amazed at the abundance of wild berries that are in season. The forest teams with tiny edible treasures, ripe for the taking. Living in Greensboro N.C., edible berries can only be picked from fridges and freezers with about 1/4 the flavor of anything found in the forests of Oriskany. It's exciting when my sister and I can spend hours scouring my aunt Carol's "hill" for blueberries. And are they delicious! We picked an entire basket. While the blueberries were rather predictable and easy to pick, the blackberries are far more fickle. We waded through tall grasses and thorns to even reach the juicy black gems. Then, after picking the blackberries, their flavors were jarringly unpredictable. One berry would taste sweet and delicious, while the next tasted like sour coffee grounds. Ick! However, the holy grail of wild berries in Oriskany must be the black raspberries. The fruits are as exotic as their name, and are probably the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. And they're are consistently delicious--tasting like combination of citrus fruits and wildflowers. Their taste and texture far surpass that of their cultivated counterpart, and I'm hopeful this undiscovered fruits of the forest will eventually find their way in supermarkets. Although surely, like the paw paw, black raspberries will never get the attention they deserve. Perhaps it's best they're left untouched by the genetic engineers, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. Oriskany is fortunate to have so many wild edible berries, and the thrill of scavenging for them in nature is certainly worth the chigger bite...or five.