“The RoseBouquet”

This last Saturday a number of us from Western Tract Mission were invited to Katie and Harold Barth’s farm for some berry picking and a weiner roast. We car-pooled, as it is about an hour’s drive north towards Radisson.

My parents were not much for going on vacation, but I do recall that some years Dad would announce that he had heard there were lots of Saskatoons at such and such a spot on either the North or the South Saskatchewan river, or perhaps at the Redberry Lake, so our whole family would pile into the car and go off for a day of berry picking. Mom would bring along enough pails for all of us, and food for a picnic. When I think of family vacations, it is scenes from those days that come before me.

It’s about two years ago when Dad and I went berry picking together for the last time. He wandered off by himself, and came back later saying he had taken a tumble down a slope and lost most of his berries. That’s when I decided that I would not take him berry-picking any more.

So this day with my friends was something to look forward to! We got there about 10 in the morning and after changing into my old runners as I expected to end up in some muddy areas, all six of us, and our hostess, spread out along a long row of Saskatoons. Katie explained that there were two kinds of Saskatoons, the Thiessen berry, and the Smokies.

(The university and certain farmers have been developing these from the wild Saskatoons to create strains that grow bigger and better berries. They have been encouraging farmers to grow them, and they hope in a few years to have enough of a supply so that we can start exporting them. The small businesses that already sell jams and jellys and Saskatoon berry pies in their trendy restaurants are thriving!)

For me it was a big change from picking the tiny sweet wild ones to these berries as big as my thumbnails. My pail filled faster. I stopped for a taste. Hmm? Not as super-sweet as the wild ones, but definitely juicy and delicious. There were even some raspberries growing at the base of the trees, which had got away on Katie when they planted these trees. I snacked on those too.

Harold got a fire going, and at noon we all considered our picking down and gathered around the fire for hot dogs, the potato salad Priscilla and I had made together, and of course, roasted marshmallows at the end. The temperature had been just right for berry-picking all morning, but as the afternoon came on, so did the heat. Katie invited us into their farmhouse for desserts.

After a while some of us wanted to go for a walk and Katie offered to guide us down to the river about two miles away. Katie and Joe strode away ahead. Priscilla jogged right past us to join them. I’m not quite that athletic, and the road was muddy, so my good (nurse’s) walking shoes were getting soiled. Fortunately, Wayne Senger, another friend of the mission who was one of the guests too, stayed back with me, and we were able to chat as we walked. When we got to the tree line we decided to head back. The others got there minutes after we did.

We headed homeward about three. When I got into my house after 4 I put my two pails of berries in the fridge and crashed across my bed for a nap. Later that evening and on Sunday, I rinsed them and put them into plastic tubs and labelled them for the freezer. I should be able to have Saskatoons about another 10-12 times over the next year. Yummm!