Abundance

Abundance comes in many different shapes and forms and I like to think that most of them are not related to a bank account.

The summer has blessed us with bushes filled with berries (some even overflowing) and the swamps around the house are quite promising as well. 

For now, the currants are not quite ripe yet. The black currants, on the contrary, shine big and dark on the east side of the bank. The black birds have noticed them too and eat its share before they're been harvested.

Although, a lot needs to be done and our "garden" is far from practical. Wilderness is one thing, seas of nettles is another. So first things first, we had to be able to actually reach the berry bushes.

This is what it looks before : 

And now that it has been weeded. 

All has been done by hand and with simple old fashion tools : a glove, a (hand) scythe and a hedge trimmer. No oil or electricity required, just a bit of elbow oil and personal time and energy. And most of all, no heavy trimmer noises to disturb anyone around. 

The scythe got the most, the leftovers were cut with the hedge trimmer and finally the nettles were uprooted from within the bushes. 

About half of the bank has been taken care of so far. Farther, you can find some raspberry bushes struggling with, guess what, more nettles. I don't mind nettles and intend to make some soup out of it one of these days, but I would much like it not to choke the rest of the plants around.

Once a path was opened and the main black currant bush accessible, the harvest could start. And indeed, the bush was overflowing with black gold.  

I try to be as careful as possible while collecting the currant, especially not take the one that are not ripe yet. Besides, Morten and I have more than we need for ourselves. 

After barely one hour, there's already 1 kilo and 275 grammes !

Of courses, 1.275kg to clean first…

… but it's all worth it !! 

And just for the fun of, i LOVE this scale ! It's fantastic. It doesn't need any battery as it works with  levels and weights. Three weights, one on top and top below the measure, which when aligned properly, gives you the balance at the load wished. Here for instance, the top weight is set on 0.5kg which means the weights stars above 0.5 kg. The two others are, from left to right, the amount wanted (500gr) and the basic weight that you have to adjust before you put anything on the scale so that you obtain the balance at 0gr. Therefore, on the picture below, we have 1 kg of berries on the scale. *

It may sound a bit tricky at first, but once the principles have sinked in, it's a marvel !

* It would have been the same if the first weight was on 1kg and the second on 0 gr … 

……………………

There are also a lot of wild berries in the area where we live. But if I have to talk about one, it's the cloud berry. 

The cloud berry, or multebær in norwegian, looks like a orange raspberry that grows like a wild strawberry. It's particular to the northern part of the north hemisphere and is very popular. It grows mainly in the swamps or nearby wet area. They are of cours delicious, but you have to be precise on when to collect them. In fact, the cloud berries are ripe for a very short period on time only after what they go wasted. 

But be careful not to pick them to early either. The colour is your main ally to chose when to collect. Besides, being so cherish and popular in Norway,  it's not rare that people go on walk a couple of weeks before the peak ripe moment, just to spot where to come back when the berries are ready.

I had never tasted, seen nor heard of the cloud berries before now. We gathered a small box of it from the swamps down hill in front on the house. Walking nearby swampish places is always funny as you are kind of swallowed by the vegetation on the ground without being in the swamp. The wild nature around us is mostly covered with mosses, rocks and tiny plants which makes the ground uneven and soft.

Thank you life for having so many small treasures ! 

Now, I'm off to even a deeper place in the wood : the cabin. 

See you in a few days and enjoy life !