I was thinking about this after getting the raspberries at the farmers market yesterday. We used to have a raspberry patch on the small ranch where I grew up, these were not those newfangled thornless ones either. These were the old ones with thorns. We had a 20’ by 12’ or so patch and there were three or four rows of berries in it. We strung wires in on the posts for the grape vines that had originally been there, the wires kept the canes off the ground we could get in to pick between the plants. We put the berries in a shortening can and picked berries several times a week when they were ripe and in season. Mom made jam not one of my favorites I must admit we enjoyed one of her flops the best a batch that turned out more like syrup, it was great on pancakes and other breakfast breads.
When the cherries we would travel to the orchards where we could pick our own after driving forty five minutes or so we were in for a day of it or half day depending on the type of fruit. We picked three lugs (boxes) of cherries and then all regularly scheduled chores would stop and we would commence (My southern mom and granny’s word for begin, it took me years to figure out a commode was a toilet! LOL! )
Anyway moving on we would wash, and cull out damaged fruit and pit these cherries, filling jars to the proper amount, then mom would put the sugar water in them and cook them in a hot water bath cooking them on the stove top steaming up the house. No one had indoor air conditioning in those days and the small Northern Idaho town not very many people have it still for the three to five days of 90+ weather that happen in August during harvest. Dad helped with this process too, pitting cherries was a messy job.
Peaches was an all day event because the peach orchard was further away. We would pack a lunch and travel pick three or four lugs of peaches and stop all regular chores and get peaches canned up for the winter. We all loved mom's home canned peaches our grandparents would come with us on these peach picking outtings and I had a great time climbing the ladders and trees for these huge fruits!
Picking huckleberries in the woods while we gathered fire wood was an annual event too, that was one dusty dirty chore that I did not enjoy. As I grew being the oldest and no brothers, mom’s back went out I was the work horse of the family getting wood hauled in from the wood shed was one of my regular chores.
Mom worked part time at the library to pay for our swimming lessons and season tickets at the pool. Summers were a very busy time for us. I ran the ‘tiller and helped to can in season vegetables too.
I learned to sew at home and in 4-h when and when I took home economics in school I aced those classes. Now I enjoy picking black berries with even more thorns with the grand children when we are boating and hubby is fishing.
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