Blueberries and more

Blueberry

Beautiful beginnings,
bountiful buds,
brilliant blossoms,

bumblebees birth
bright blue berry bunches,
“blue-licious” blueberry bushes,

beautiful!

** ** **

I grew up with the luxury of blueberries fresh-picked from backyard bushes lovingly tended by my father and mother. Of course, I took them for granted and didn’t appreciate the intense flavor treat each bite birthed in my mouth until I left home and walked into the artificial equivalent found in grocery stores.

Try though they may, even the organic, local foods only stores get shipments that are not the same as fresh picked and eaten at prime ripeness. It wasn’t until I landed in Oregon some ten years later that my taste buds were reunited with the pleasures of juicy blueberries. Here I could go to U-pick farms and gather buckets of them for freezing and eating. When I moved into a home where ten mature blueberry bushes lined one edge of the backyard, I was in heaven.

The bushes need so little attention and the harvest was bountiful enough to share with neighbors, co-workers, and the resident deer, and still have more than enough to satiate my love of this little blue berry.

I’ve once again moved and no longer experience the ever-present fresh berries, but I know where to find them and no longer take them for granted.