Foraging at Blueberry Edge

By Michaella Niceforo

Most summer weekends are spent at Silver Lake in NH with my family at my grandmother, Mimmie’s, lake house. Waterskiing, tubing, kayaking, lake sunsets, and campfire s’mores are just some of the many memories I make every year. One of my most memorable activities though is blueberry picking with two of my cousins, Nicholas and Teresa, at a little spot we like to call Blueberry Edge. At Blueberry Edge, located on one of Silver Lake’s several small islands, there are wild blueberry bushes that grow along the edge of the water. We always travel to Blueberry Edge on Nicholas’ little old rowboat that’s been in our family for many years. As we crash through the waves with our empty bucket, we look around at the beautiful scenery. Underneath the vibrant blue sky and the shining sun that reflects on the water, we observe all of the beautiful cottages lining the lake, and the White Mountains in the distance, surrounding us from all sides. 

As we come closer to Blueberry Edge, Teresa and I get out of the boat and make our way to the blueberries, carefully stepping on the rocks that cover the bottom of the shallow water. As Nicholas circles around the area in the boat waiting for us to finish our foraging, I can’t help but take a moment to admire the beautiful wild blueberry bushes and the hundreds of berries they supply. These blueberries are much smaller than what you would see in any supermarket, more precious. They are a natural part of the island, instilling in me a deeper sense of appreciation for all that nature has to offer. I start picking all of the blueberries I can find, delicately plucking them from the bushes, while carefully avoiding the mysterious, and potentially toxic, berries that deceptively appear similar to blueberries, but appear darker in color. With two large handfuls of tiny treasures, I make my way over to Teresa and carefully drop my blueberries into our bucket. 

After we picked all the blueberries we could for the day, we travel back to Nicholas as he slowly approaches with the boat, and excitedly analyze all of the blueberries that we had foraged together. When we arrive back at the house, we show everyone all of the blueberries we picked and quickly get to work making blueberry bread with our fresh berries. The aroma of our special pastry filled the kitchen as we all eagerly taste the blueberry bread and enjoy it together as a family.

Our foraging adventures aren’t just about harvesting wild blueberries, but also about the memories we make together while remembering all the unexpected gifts the natural world provides.