I know my eyes are failing me, but am I seeing that right? Are northern wild blueberries really selling for $18 per litre on social media handles?
On one hand, I guess that means people are picking and that means I need to scope out my territory.
What was once a lush expanse of green bushes brimming with fruit appear to be mostly crunchy green space.
And so I wait. I wait for a hot day. No, maybe I need a cool and balmy day. Nope, I need the rain to ripen things.
For all its worth, I have been doing this for many years, 16 to be exact. Most seasons, my children and I have averaged between 35-40 litres of berries according to our carefully archived Google Spreadsheets.
So a week later, I return to the patch, and while the berries are more blue and plentiful than they were last week, this is back-breaking, painstaking work.
I look for the low spots first, then the high ones getting the most sunlight. After that, I head to the shady high spots and low spots that border on moss. I just keep moving.
All this walking has me thinking. I can't help but wonder about the people I saw complaining about berry prices online and wonder if they have any clue about the effort that goes into picking blueberries.
The berries are scattered, with only a few large clusters, resembling grapes, here and there. Sporadic is officially my way to describe this picking season, profitable and sporadic.
I sit and pick and listen to yet another audiobook pining for grape bunches or those cooked dark blueberries but so far, it hasn’t been all that fruitful of a season.
But there isn’t that much sitting or crouching this year. I should be thankful because I am getting way more steps in as I spend more time locating worthy patches.
This might not be a fruitful year, but there's hope that by the end of this week or next, berry production will blow up.
That will help drive down the cost and keep customers and sellers happy.
I’m no expert, but those green leaves haven’t produced much this year. Could it be the smoke from the nearby fires, climate change, global warming or just a bad season?
I know the Maley Drive area has been hit hard by caterpillars, but that doesn’t seem to be the issue in Minnow Lake.
For years, I’ve timed my picking around the Blueberry Festival. It’s worth noting that, although last year was an oddity with picking starting in late June, the festival itself doesn’t kick off until July 18, with the hike up Blueberry Hill.
Check out what's happening during the Blueberry Festival by clicking here.
There is still hope and I will persist, even if these last few days I am relying on a lot of topical analgesics to relieve the lower back spasms.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.