"VERY BERRY"

This is the time of the year you see Finns crawling in the nature. If you only go to the forest once a year, this is it. The hummocks are covered with blueberries; dark blue dots all over. Finns pick lots of berries, and earn some extra money by selling them at the markets for those who do not have time or energy to pick the berries themselves. Yet, 90% of the harvest rotten every year in the forest. Planeloads of berry pickers arrive all the way from Thailand to secure the harvest will not be left unpicked.

This summer my retired mom has picked 145 liters of blueberries, so far. When the autumn rain starts, she finances herself a ☀︎holiday with the berry-money.

"Mom, the blueberry-queen"

Me? Well, long way to go. My saldo is only 3 liters, and it took forever to pick even that. The "professionals" use picking tool, but amateurs, like me,  pick the blue delicacy one by one.

In my childhood, I learned to enjoy the woods, wonder around and pick berries... just enough to have a sweet snack.

"ME, COUPLE OF YEARS AGO (blue eyes & blue teeth)."

Strawberries are cultivated, but farmers offer better prices for those willing to pick the red delicacy themselves... So, again you'll see Finns crawling along the endless (that's how it feels when you start from one end of the line) strawberry fields.

We have a saying in Finland "muu maa mustikka, oma maa mansikka" = "other country blueberry, own country strawberry". That tells how much Finns love strawberries. There's nothing better than homemade strawberry jam, or juice, or a cake...