Swamp land, Big Lake: Tried to pick every kind of berry around. Picked tons of wild raspberries. Also picked quite a few red currants and very ripe watermelon berries (almost too squishy to get.) Picked many perfect trailing black currants from one spot. Picked a few ripe crowberries, cloudberries, and rosehips here and there. Snacked on ripe timberberries. Lowbush cranberries are large and green and highbush are turning red. Huge, interesting mushrooms are everywhere as well as a ton of mourning cloak caterpillars in feeding frenzies.
July 31
Woods, Big Lake: picked lots of raspberries and some bog blueberries. Lots of good watermelon berries around and pretty good bunchberries too.
July 3
Swamp land, Big Lake: Bog blueberries are big and green. Red currants are beginning to look pink. (Berries on other currants here are greener still.) Most elderberry flowers have dropped off their green berries. Watermelon plants are flowering or have small green berries. Raspberries small and green. Bog cranberry flowering. Cloudberry has small, hard berries.
June 22
Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, Wasilla: Picked lots of perfect, huge rose petals. A few rosehips are ready. Northern black currants are big and green. Raspberries and nagoonberries are small and green, a few beginning to redden.
June 2
Woods, Wasilla: Roses have been blooming around the Valley. Watermelon berries and high and lowbush cranberries are all flowering. Most red currants have small green berries forming, some are still flowering. Raspberry flowers are generally buds. Spruce tips are super good this year so we’ve been eating a lot.
August 4
Woods, Wasilla: Super good watermelon berries and raspberries on various powerline trails. Some red currants still remaining here and there.
August 2
Bodenburg Butte, Butte: Picked lots of really good serviceberries. Also some raspberries. Elderberries are perfect here and doing great/healthy just like they are in the whole Valley.
July 20
Kincaid Park, Anchorage: Lots of raspberries, elderberries, and watermelon berries ready for picking.
July 6
Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, Wasilla: Lots of perfect red currants. Black currants half green/blue with a few ripe. Some perfect nagoonberries, others not ripe yet. Green raspberries.
May 28
Swamp land, Big Lake: Gathered lots of good very big/tender spruce tips which are everywhere. Elderberries and raspberries flowering. Red and black currants flowering too. Also bluebells, etc.