'Tis the Season: Wildharvesting Cranberries

There is a "dry" (different than a dried up) cranberry bog where my mom, her boyfriend and I go picking. It is kind of one of those places that is a well kept secret.

If you don't know where it is, well then you just don't know...

We went to harvest this weekend, hoping that there would be an abundance of cranberries.

It was pretty scarce, however.

Maybe it was just the crop (or lack of) this year, or maybe we were just a week or 2 late.

Who knows.

What I do know is that I am thankful to have a half gallon of local, wildharvested cranberries. Just need to wash them and pop 'em in the freezer until they will become cran-apple pies and home made cranberry sauce. Mmm....

Do you have anything that you like to harvest seasonally?

A second trip to the bog (by boat this time...)

On Sunday my mom's boyfriend took us by skiff to the bog this time.

Let me just tell you, I am actually glad we walked in the first time because going by boat was WAAAAAY faster! *and super pretty*

Too bad it was too shaky to take any good photos on the boat...

We got a TON of cranberries.

I think I am going to bag some up and bring them to sell at the farmers' market next monday.

I was going to try to make chutney to sell too, but I don't think I will have time.

I have come to the conclusion that we need a rake with a scoop on the back to help get the cranberries faster. Also, we went further into the bog this time where it was wetter, the cranberries were HUGE and there were hoards of them compared to where we were picking on the first trip.

We had a good time, I thought it was especially amusing watching Dan (my mom's bf) trudging in his waders with his super "fancy" basket (read: found- or stolen- shopping basket).

And my mom thought that if she got a running start down one dune, it would be easier to get up the other side... It didn't work.

I think in all we picked 5 gallon bags full of craberries and Dan half filled his basket.

That's a lot of cranberries.

Now I have to do something with them.

I will definitely make pie and hopefully chutney when I have time.

Any other suggestions...?

the great cranberry adventure: part 3

When we finally made our way back into the dunes towards the bog (and realized at that point, even though it was far, we didn't have to go quite as much further as we had anticipated), I had noticed so many beautiful textures.

The plover had made lacy tracks all over the dunes, berries and sticks that had dropped and were being covered back up, flowers and grasses that had gone past, were dried and standing still like a painting...

We found the right trail!

And when we got to the bog, we immediately got to collecting.

(Did I mention that not many people know of this bog? It's kind of like a secret...)

It amazed me how many cranberries can grow on these little tiny bushes that are so low to the ground.

We were trying to get as many as possible before we had to go.

We each managed to scoop up enough to mostly fill a 1 gallon freezer bag full and then decided the rest would have to wait for another day. (plus we were worried about being caught with the dogs since we were breaking the rules)

The walk back was definitely long, but warm and beautiful.

I can't believe how early the sun starts setting these days.

By 2 o'clock, I felt like it was 5:30!

I think the total trip was about 5 miles and if you have ever hiked in sand, you know it feels like at least double that!

So, the moral of the story goes like this:

Take the boat.

Just kidding.

Although we might take the skiff next time, if I were to walk in again, I would remember to bring food and water in my backpack instead of filling it up with layers I think I might need but don't. And of course, I always have to leave room for treasures picked up along the way, not to mention all the cranberries we pick!

This ended up being a 4 or 5 hour adventure and I had only eaten a scone for breakfast.

It was a good thing the orchard was open on the way home, I was starving!

I don't ever think a rustic meal of apple, cheese and bread with cider ever tasted so good!

So, any of you have any good adventures you want to share?

I love a good adventure tale!

(see previous posts here and here)

the great cranberry adventure: part 1

So finally we had time (me and mum) and a good day to go to the dry cranberry bog to harvest cranberries!

I didn't know that they could grow in a dry bog, did you?

I also didn't know that you can't harvest them until after a frost, it helps them ripen...

We set off on this adventure with pups in tow, which, come to find out, they aren't allowed on the dunes... I know, breaking the law. We're such rebels. We had to be real stealthy...

It was so beautiful. I hadn't been to this part of the beach. The dunes are like a whole other world!

It was really funny because we found mushrooms growing out of the sand everywhere!

Did you know that they could grow in the sand? I certainly had no idea...

It was very twisty and turny back there and there were many beautiful views!

Man, I wish we brought water with us.

It was so warm, I think around 70 degrees (in November!?!) and of course we were both a bit over dressed.

So we definitely ended up barefoot.

The warm sand felt so good!

...To be continued...