A walk in the blueberry barrens
On Sunday. I spent a good long time almost alone in this huge field under this very blue sky. Picking blueberries, and then taking a walk.
I’ve walked this road before. I forget where it comes out though. I didn’t get that far this time. It was hot (relatively), windy, and I was worn out by picking berries in the sun.
You know it is a rough road when you have to ford a stream in your vehicle. It was shallow enough at this point in the summer for me to cross on the right side by stepping very mindfully in certain dryish places on the stone. The coloration in the stream must be from tannin of some kind from somewhere upstream.
There are so many berries. This field is privately owned by someone, I don’t know who. The berries were harvested in past years when we first started coming up here. But it hasn’t been harvested commercially for a few years now. And not sprayed either. So people come by and pick. But most of the berries go back to the ground if they are not eaten by some creatures.
When a field is commercially harvested there usually comes a time when they clear the rocks out to allow machinery to come in and pick, rather than migrant workers – or tribal nations people, like the Passamaquoddy who pick traditionally. Here the large boulders are moved into a line at the side of the road. But the field is still full of medium and small boulders, so it could not be harvested commercially at this point. And the removal of the large boulders has left deep holes and pits in the field. You have to watch your footing.
There’s a fake moose sculpture in the field. It is probably as close as most people will get to seeing a moose in this area. From a distance, it really does give the impression of a moose. It’s been there since I’ve been coming to this field and has been reconstructed numberless times. I decided to go up close to take a good look. It has tennis balls hanging in a strategic place on the underside. Someone has a sense of humor.
I looked up “blueberry barrens” to see if it was a real designation or just something people say. It is a real designation – “These barrens are wide, flat to hummocky expanses of dwarf shrub vegetation punctuated by sparse pine or spruce trees. Lowbush and/or velvet-leaf blueberry is the predominant shrub, forming a fairly even carpet.”
what a fascinating post … from blueberries to boulders to bull moose … the blueberries remind me of the wild raspberries (which my mom called wineberries) that we used to pick on Shelter Island … where we would see large boulders like these scattered about as it was the terminal moraine of the glaciers that scraped up bits of New England and formed what is known today as Long Island
There’s so much to learn about these regions. I was taking my blueberry walk for granted, when I realized – hey there’s some interesting things going on here!
This is such a delicious “arm-chair travel” post! My memory-files had swallowed decades old memories of jaunting around Maine. mid ’70s I think, as “recession” had depleted work opportunities where I lived, so whizzed off to the first state my dart landed on the map. I was particularly interested in blueberries – wild – as my favorite berries in Alaska (among others also favorites) are huckleberries. This particular trek of yours is wonderful, and even though I knew, or thought I knew, I am tickled that you added a link. Looking for a map of the area I recall visiting, I found a map link ????????https://tinyurl.com/b896na6f. Yes indeed, that’s where I recall going to. On the same trip, I rambled around looking at Maine cranberry bogs. Another reason your post is so interesting to me (ever the neuro-divergent), is that I am currently re-reading a fine book with a chapter about huckleberries. If you are a library junkie as I am, here’s a book (essay collection) you might enjoy: “The Book of Difficult Fruit ~ Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with recipes) “, by Kate Lebo. link ???????? https://tinyurl.com/mrytmckj Thank you for this wonderful treat – and great admiration of doing so in the heat!
Such wonderful connections you’ve made with my little Maine corner. My in-laws lived in Sandpoint, Idaho, and we used to visit and pick huckleberries. I’ve never visited a Maine cranberry bog, but I know they exist, as my brother- and sister-in-law forage cranberries every November.
as always…all this, feeds something within me that loves your Place…the words for it even, bogs, barrens
and the photograph of the boulders and clouds…..maybe this is the road you would walk on the way to the Gathering? and
you would of course, bring blueberries for the campfire
Yes, I would walk a road like this, and Yes, bring blueberries. It’s a very interesting place, Maine. But so is anywhere with relatively undisturbed nature.
Oh, I so love the photo of road, boulders, clouds and Big Sky! Beautiful! Armchair traveling is right, as this is unlike any places I’ve ever been. Fascinating. Thank you.
It is an amazing place. My posts help me not take it for granted. Thanks for reading!