Swamp land, Big Lake: Picked ripe red currants. Enough are red now to be worth it! Many are still green or just about ripe.
October 4
Swamp land, Big Lake: Probably the last time I’m going to pick a bunch of red currants this year. I still can’t resist the perfectly good racemes, but some clusters are getting brown or slimy so they’re all about done.
September 22
Swamp land, Big Lake: Did some more late currant hunting. Picked lots of red currants. Many or most of the plant leaves have dropped off but there are still great bunches of tasty squishy berries hanging everywhere, good for using immediately in recipes.
September 3
Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, Wasilla: Did some late currant hunting. Got lots of nice northern black currants and red currants. Things are getting squishy but there’s still plenty to be picked. Also picked nice rosehips.
August 5
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 24
Swamp land, Big Lake: Picked lots of red currants. Skunk currants are also ripe. Picked a nice amount of ripe early blueberries. Elderberries seem red in sunny spots and green in shady spots. Crowberries and bog cranberries seem almost ready in spots.
July 16
Crooked Lake, Big Lake: Picked lots of red currants. Some rosehips are ready.
July 11
Swamp land, Big Lake: Red currants are mostly orangey tomato-red. Skunk currants red. Bog cranberry flowering or with small green berries. Lowbush cranberries are mostly small and green. Some early blueberries turning purple.
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 19
Girdwood: Blueberries and trailing currants are small and green. Lots of beautiful blooms on trailing raspberry, salmonberry, cloudberry, bog cranberry. Some small berries forming.
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