Yes, the little dark purple berries are ready. We picked yesterday and will again on Friday. This morning I sat and took them off the stem cluster. Three ways to do this, 1. just rub them between your fingers and the fall right off it ripe enough, (I wear rubber gloves). 2. use a wide tooth comb to pull them off and 3. use a fork. I like number one method the best. Two and three tend to get more stems and then you have to pick those out. The best way is to soak the berries in cold water, the ripe will go to the bottom and the not so ripe, stems, leaves and even a bug or two will float. Just skim them off the top of the water. All of the elderberries will go to the freezer until one of those cold winter days. Cooking jelly makes the house smell so good and brings up a memory or two of the day we picked. Today when I was cleaning them as always the same memory comes to mind. On the farm the Leilous family was our neighbor. Joyce and Linda were a couple years older than mean and their brother Donny a few years younger. Their mom was a great cook and baker, you could always smell good things when I rode my bike into their yard during the warm weather months. Their dad worked at Clark Brothers in Olean. Every August he had his kids pick Elderberries for a couple Italian guys he worked with. They used them to make wine and paid by the bushel. I have no idea how much I helped because it gave me something to do. Being in the country it was something different and fun to do. We would spend most of the afternoon picking. There was a huge Elderberry patch behind their house. So today I went back to those afternoons spent with friends. It's funny because now I can't even think what we talked about! Probably the first day of school coming up. Back then country kids were always excited for the first day of school.
Thinking about the first day of school the weather has it in the air. Very close to that fall feeling. Trees are starting to turn from deep greens to lighter, wild apples are starting to fall to give way for some to get a little bigger and few wild flowers except for the dreaded golden rod. It is starting to show color. After the predicted rains this weekend we will be walking the forest looking for wild mushrooms. They love the wet and once the rain comes they will pop up almost immediately. The other thing that is sought after this time of the year is ginseng. We find it but don't dig it. Many do and can make quite a bit of money selling it once it is dried.
This has been quite a season for the Orioles. They left, they're back, left and now they are back again. They might be northern Orioles headed south. If they are we are surprised they know to stop by our porch for hummingbird food. We are filling two feeders 2-3 times a day that is equal to 4-6 cups. This is the best year ever for them! Every morning and night they are our entertainment. Even our friends from Olean stop by to watch the show every once in a while.
One more reason to know fall is near...........the guys are preparing for archery season and rifle season. Two new huts are being built. The grandson and gramps have been busy with the final touches on the one gramp will use. It doesn't seem like a year has past since having this time of year upon us. Like my mom said, the older you get the faster time goes. That is for sure!
