Juneberry Thoughts

One of the advantages of living on the mountain
is the panorama that spreads out when we drive to the valleys.
Last month,
Bennett's Valley was spectacular
with hundreds of juneberry trees in blossom.  
Ameleanchor is known by a number of names:
shadbush,
serviceberry  two centuries ago
the berries were ripe
when the many wedding services were performed
by a circuit-riding preacher
About ten years ago
Den planted three plants
This year the conditions were perfect for fruiting.
Last week the berries were pink,
Wednesday they were darkening to a perfect ripeness,
and Thursday night the bear came.
Branch tips were stripped
by his bite-and pull method of eating
and a big branch was broken on the ground.
Friday morning
the grandgirls and I discovered the damage.
Anna was a bit sad that the bear damaged the tree,
but Lucy was thrilled that so many berries
were now within her reach.
She ate them indiscriminately
until she discovered that green ones are pretty bad.
The next hour
was spent consuming Hundreds Of Delicious Red Berries.
While Anna braved the tippy stones in the wall
to reach higher branches,
Lucy took Bop a fistful of berries,
which somehow became half a fistful of berries.
When Bop gratefully accepted the gift
and then immediately gave them back to her,
Lucy 's cheeks almost burst with enthusiasm.

This morning the girls are back home
and more branches are broken.
Luckily the weather is  perfect,
nice breeze,
relatively low humidity,
great for beating the bear to the remainder.
I gently bend the branches to reach the higher berries--
not too hard or I will break the remaining branches.
I pick the ripest maroon berries
and the darker reds
and listen to them ping into the bowl.
When I release the branch,
the remaining reds look riper than the pinks
and I wonder if perhaps I should pick them as well.
As I work, I think of spectrums--
the spectrum of juneberry ripeness,
the spectrum of branch brittleness,
the spectrum of house cleanliness,
the political spectrum,
the spectrum of attention given to children.
I think the middle is usually a good place to be.
Colson Blakeslee,
our first family physician,
advised "Everything in moderation."
I like that.
My house has dust bunnies
and the occasional dust possum
but the CDC wouldn't be interested.
I am easily swayed
by both Rebublicans
and Democrats.
I eat low-far cottage cheese and butter,
carrots and bacon.
I use store-bought pie crust
and homemade filling.

I think I'll go make a juneberry pie.