raspberries around too, and you don't have to compete with the bears for those.

The hucks are a little hard to get to sometimes, and often up on the mountains.

Saw a jeep in front of me today, had one of those cut stencils across the back window...

"Huckleberry Assault Vehicle".

Like the ones in the photo I posted? I don't mind eating those when I come across them but they are so sour that I have difficulty seeing eating any quantity.

Not to mention they are so small it would take forever to pick a cup full

is almost funny. People find them and won't tell anyone, they lie, they sneak around to avoid detection.

In the height of the season, however, you can see the "commercial pickers", or at least higher volume pickers. There are places where buyers park to weigh and purchase them from people that go up and get them.

They have been trying to cultivate them for years, without much success. They prefer the wild.

Pretty much all the same... and tons of good mushrooms to boot.

Since I really love mushrooms. However I couldn't identify a single one right now and my parents put the fear of god into me about misidentifying one and getting something poisonous.

My friend has something like 40 years foraging experience under his belt. I won't so much as touch a mushroom in the field unless he's there saying "OK, pick those there " although I have been doing a lot of studying and I feel pretty confident that I could ID a handful of easy ones like the boletes, puffballs and chanterelles...

Edit: If you really want to check into mushrooming, this would be a good group to look into.
http://www.vanmyco.com/

Yeah I've always been led to believe that wild mushroom hunting is pretty dangerous. Even the experts get it wrong from time to time. But there I know there are a few very unique looking ones that are relatively safe to pick once you get to know them. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

in March and April. I eat them straight off the vine, even though I know it probably isn't good for me. They are so tart and delicious, though, when warmed in the sunshine that I can't help myself

Blackberries are amazingly sweet actually.

There are also wild currants and elderberries.

On the coast there's salal, salmonberries, thimbleberries, and so forth.

I also have red raspberries and blueberries in my yard but they aren't wild.

Last edited Wed Jul 31, 2013, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Mulberry are best when you pick them from the ground (sweetest/ready ones drop)