Blueberries ripen in the Pacific Northwest in late July and early August. My mother has two blueberry bushes in her yard that produce considerably more blueberries than her household can comfortably consume. It has become an early August tradition for me to spend an hour or so picking blueberries from her bushes. Although I am quite capable of picking by myself, my mother always comes out to pick with me. We spend that hour in comfortable work and talk.
This year, my mother was traveling when the blueberries ripened, so I took my husband instead. As we were picking, I realized I missed my mom. At this time of life, one wonders how many more years I will be able to pick blueberries with her.
In the dark days of this winter, we will rummage through the freezer to find those reminders of late summer sun produced by my mom's blueberry bushes. As much as we will enjoy the berries, perhaps they are not the principal harvest of my berry-picking time.
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