September 8, 2023
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/182407168
Today I observed blueberries on the tundra near the airport in Nome, Alaska. Blueberries are found all through out Alaska, though there are different types found through out the state. The ones in our region are known as bog blueberries. Today was the first nice day we've had in what feels like months, everyone has been calling it the 3rd day of summer. Its sunny, clear skies, minimal wind and 39 degrees out but feels more like 50 degrees. You can see mountains in the distance covered in snow. As I mentioned earlier, its been nothing but rain and high winds for what feels like months, so it was nice to get out and enjoy the tundra. I came upon some late season blueberries. They were pretty soft and mushy, the insides were very dark when smooshed. Blueberries are picked here in Nome and used for many things. We use them for jams and jellies, pies, ice cream, or eat them with canned milk and sugar. There are many other deserts that blueberries are used for but the one that is by far the most famous is called blueberry delight. Its a desert with a graham cracker crust and layers of whip cream and cream cheese, blueberries and jello.
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評論
Amy;
You made me hungry with that last line, "whip cream and cream cheese, blueberries and jello." The weather sounds perfect for going out and finding berries, even though it is late in the season. Here in Sitka, there are still blueberries on the bushes, and we have two kinds, one a true blueberry and one that is a blue huckleberry; then we have the red huckleberries. They have started to ferment at this point in the season, and I will see birds getting drunk eating them, especially the huckleberries.
When taking a class on the biology of Alaska, I mixed up blueberry and huckleberry bushes when they didn't have any leaves or berries in the middle of the winter. My patient professor picked branches from each so I could see the difference. I never mix them up now. If you look at the branch, a blueberry branch is round, and a huckleberry branch is cubed.
I felt like I was there with you when you shared this, thank you-
Gayleen
I'm so glad you found blueberries! Here in Homer, we had so little sun, our berry bushes produced practically nothing. It sounds like Nome had the same issue. A boat captain told me last weekend, "oh, you missed summer, it was last Saturday". UGH! It's so worth it for those few sunny days we do have, particularly when we get to pick BERRIES! I looked up bog blueberries as I'd never heard of them, sounds as though they are a fickle bunch, but delicious when you can find them.
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