Filling Your Bucket


Hands purple from the juice of the Saskatoon berries. Bethune, SK. July 2021

The sun beat down incredibly that day, but the dry breeze provided some relief from the heat and kept bugs at bay. I must have been a gatherer in a past life, as when the raspberry or saskatoon berries are at their prime, I can't refuse. For me, berry picking is a truly mindful activity -- a moving meditation. Branches are laden with clusters of deep purple fruit, as the hand, eye and mind work in unison to tug and gently gather... attentive to the ripe or not... the plump, too small or withered. One not only gets lost in the tangle of branches, but in time, in thought, and usually no thought. Soon the bucket is full and heavy, yet there is one more perfect branch just over there, within reach. Addicting.

'Love is a fruit in season at all times, within reach of every hand."
~ Mother Teresa

Picking with my niece and sister.


Comments

  1. AnnetteJuly 18, 2021 at 6:32 AM

    WOW, great pickings :) I bet they're delicious, well really I know they are :) Yes, it certainly was a hot and rather smokey day at that. Picking berries really is therapeutic and time does fly by and it's always such pleasure picking with family and friends :) Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. GlenysJuly 18, 2021 at 4:18 PM

    I just finishing sitting down and having a piece of Saskatoon berry pie. I also love the rhythm of berry picking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AileenJuly 22, 2021 at 6:52 PM

    What a wonderful pastime to pick berries with family, no matter how old they are!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cyclo Zone

Image
  Cyclo - a traditional type of pedi-cab in Vietnam. (2016) It came as part of a tour package. We indulged our weary feet with the slow "cyclo" ride around the historic old quarter of Hanoi, and to provide our driver the employment. The  narrow,  bustling streets were crowded with motor bikes, almost non-existent side walks, people selling their wares or engaged in conversation around tiny plastic table sets while having Vietnamese coffee or tea.  It was curious how the streets were still organized -- named by product. One street might sell different types of string and yarn (Yarn Street), another street sells only picture frames, another books, another spices, and so on. If one shop didn't carry what you needed, they directed you to one down their street that might have it. This ancient system was efficient for someone in the market for a specific item. But, it also seemed in the spirit of cooperation rather than competition -- to help the client and to help each bu...
Read more

Flower Moon

Image
  Walking on the Moon -- our feet eclipse the giant moon installation at St. John's Cathedral in Saskatoon, Sept, 2023. We've had our eyes to the skies of late. A few weeks ago we were fortunate to be in a location where we experienced the solar eclipse. Then, the recent geomagnetic storm that swept over the earth created beautiful auroras, causing skies to sparkle and dance with colour at lower latitudes than usual. Witnessing these events fills us with wonder and awe. Here we are in this small place on our planet, marvelling at the grand cycles of an infinite universe.    Traditionally, many of us consider the passing of May's full moon to be the gardeners' go-ahead.  A quick search led me to the date for the next full moon, May 23rd. What I also discovered was that there is a name for each month's full moon, and these names vary from culture to culture. I like that our Indigenous peoples refer to May as having the Flower Moon , to signify the flowers that bloom t...
Read more

Step Up

Image
Stairs in Mount Tolmie Park in Victoria, BC 2024 You've likely heard of Blue Zones --  5 specific areas in Greece, Japan, Costa Rica, Italy, and California.  They are places where people live happily with extreme longevity and few health conditions. They do many things 'right' without even trying, through their diet, exercise, and often gardening.  After living for 3 1/2 weeks on an extremely rugged island in the Aegean sea in Greece, without a vehicle,  I've come to believe one of the most effective* forms of exercise is to climb stairs (or hills). Our accommodations were perched high on a steep hill, requiring us to walk down into town and back up at least once a day. Huff-puffing our way up with hearts pounding, we thought we might keel over, lest we stop for breaks at least 3 times. We lost count of how many actual steps  -- 300+. Some days it felt a little easier, but it was always a challenging leg and cardio workout.  STAIR STATS reveal they are less...
Read more