A Fine Day To Collect Mulberries!

We decided to take the day off from running to collect some berries on the Kewash Trail.  I may not have mentioned this yesterday, but Cheryl ran 22 miles over the weekend. ( Seems the 65 degree weather is agreeable!)   And I biked alongside.   We skipped the evening bike rides because Cheryl thinks those are cutting into her running health....  And even during a year where all the races have been canceled, she does not want to risk an injury.  SO.....  Off to find berries!

We did not have to travel far down the Kewash trail before finding a nice big tree with lots of berries dangling down.  Another nice thing about the area was that most of the tree had been mowed around, so we did not have to worry about ticks, mud, hidden holes, or poison ivy!   The branches were low enough for even Cheryl to pick a few.  ( she is kinda short... )

The wind was howling, but kept things cool AND kept any biting black flies away.   We both started out delicately picking the ripe black ones... but eventually,  we just started to hold the bucket under the branches and fumbled the berries in.  I must have looked like Juan Valdez picking Coffee beans in the brisk chilly mountain air.  Just grab the branch and pull on the berries while holding your basket beneath them. 

 

It is true that we could have used larger baskets, and that more than a few missed the basket all together.   Not to mention a bunch of sticks, leaves, and unripe berries DID make it in the basket.   However, I think our method saved us time!  And it did not take Cheryl long to start complaining that her arms were getting tired.  So wimpy!

As for me,  I felt more like I was playing catch with Mother Nature.    The wind was bouncing the berries off my basket, hands, and head!   I could feet the mulberries bounce off my back and into the grass.  Perhaps we should have invested in a tarp and a really long cane pole.

But when it was all done, we had two full buckets/baskets and Cheryl cleaned them off, sorted them out and froze them.  Any more and they would not have fit in the freezer!   Our first Mulberry Dish was a Berry Oat Bake.   Though the berries were mixed with others types, I still found it delish!

To help make room for the Berry Creations,   Cheryl made a HUGE number of Banana Breads to give away to people.  I guess we did not eat up all those bananas as fast as we thought we would.   And I don't know what her plans for future berry gathering expeditions might be.   I imagine she is like me with the Mushroom hunting.   Foraging at it's finest.

Any lastly,  Iowa has Hudsonville Ice cream!   It is perhaps the best tasting Michigan Icecream  in  Michigan.. and now maybe Iowa.   Cheryl had to get a half gallon to see if the taste is everything she remembers.   We used to live near Hudsonville, Michigan, so all of the stores had the Local Icecream.   I'm waiting for her report on how it tastes and if we can eventually imitate it with our own creations.    We shall see...