The amazing blueberry

Blueberries are small fruit that have a sweet taste and a dark blue color when ripe.

Blueberries grow on bushes and are harvested in North America starting in May and lasting through the summer.  In Australia, fresh blueberries are available about ten months of the year (from July through April) due to the geographic spread of the blueberry farms and the methods of cultivation.  Harvest in the UK is from June to August, while in Mexico it’s from October to February.

Blueberries are traditionally harvested by hand using a special rake, but modern farmers use machines. 

Blueberries can be sold fresh, or processed and made into juice, jam, wine, pies, muffins, snack foods or added to breakfast cereals.  Of course, as we all know, fresh is better because processing does diminish some of the health benefits of any food.

Blueberries are high in B vitamins, but also contain protein, the minerals manganese and potassium and vitamins C and K.  They also contain anthocyanins, polyphenols, and phytochemicals, which are antioxidants that can boost brain power, help dry skin and may prevent some cancers. 

I always throw frozen blueberries into my breakfast smoothies.

Bears and Blueberries

The only time I’ve ever come face-to-face with a bear was when I lived in Alaska.  It was summer, that wonderful short time between June and the middle of August. 

Fruits and veggies grow at a fast rate in Alaska because the growing season is so short and the days are extremely long.  Not far out of Anchorage, toward the Alyeska ski resort, there are hills of wild blueberries in the summers.  The path is marked by what is barely recognizable as a trail wondering off into the woods.  We had to park on the shoulder of the highway and hike about two miles.  Once we climbed the embankment, the whole area was covered with blueberry bushes.  It didn’t take long to fill the buckets we packed up the hill with the juicy, sweet berries. 

Photo by Nature Pics

As we discovered, black bears also loved this treat.  We stumbled upon a mama bear and her two cubs on one such outing.  I wish I had a camera with me, but of course, bears were the last thing on my mind. 

We slowly backtracked with not many berries that day.  She only looked at us and didn’t advance, but we kept our distance.  I wasn’t frightened at all, only awed at the scene before me. 

Every summer we made several trips to this same place and never saw another bear.

Have you ever come this close to wild animals?