Why does it taste so good?

Black raspberries ripening

This has been a wonderful spring and now we are at the start of summer. I have been working on our three and one half acre plot in the Oley Valley all spring. It has kept me so busy I have not had time to post anything for weeks but this evening we have a nice gentle rain and I have some extra time to share the blessings I have been enjoying. 

It takes me over an hour to pick our berries. 

The mulberries are finished, the blueberries are looking and tasting good, as are the red and black raspberries.

Why do the berries I pick taste so much better than store bought? I came up with numerous reasons:

       1. Nothing is better than fresh picked, and quickly frozen comes in second. I got so many berries that last year we froze enough that we were eating them into March of this year.

       2. When I pick them I am singing songs, reflecting on God's great creation, remembering other days. As I was finishing up the mulberries I remembered a time when my sister Carla and I worked at the same office building and we would drive to work together. One day we parked under a mulberry tree, climbed up on the hood of the car and picked ourselves a tasty treat. We may not be classy but we know how to enjoy ourselves.

      3. I slow down and discover things. I thought we lost our yellow raspberry canes because I had not seen any in years. This year I found it. If you have never had a yellow raspberry you are missing a treat. They are the sweetest raspberries I have ever tasted.

Unusual yellow raspberries

       4. I notice nature around me. For example: Daddylongleggers (also called Harvestmen) enjoy raspberries also. There are certainly enough to go around for both of us. This one was in my red raspberry patch and he sparked another memory. My daughter Emily has a fear of this harmless creature and she makes us laugh every time she talks about them. So, while I pick my berries I think of Emily.

Daddylonglegger

      5. While picking the berries I sweat, get scratches and mosquito bites. Things worked for are better appreciated than things given to us or bought. 

      6. I feel grateful to God for all of nature around me and for the wonderful food he provides.

Buying berries involves none of this so even though the ones bought at the store or the farmer's market taste  and look good they just don't taste like mine.