Berry Mania!

We're having a beautiful sunny August day around 65 deg F, so we decided to take Finland's "every man's right" and go hunting. Berry hunting that is. Right now bilberries (a cousin to the North American blueberry) are ripe and can be found just about anywhere on the side of the road and in the forest. Barbed wire fences are very to see in Finland so you pretty much just ride your bike or drive out of town a bit and walk the forests where there is little ground growth.



There are multiple varieties of berries and mushrooms are scattered on the forest floors. I still don't know how to tell the bad from good mushrooms, but berries are pretty safe and easy to identify. Cloudberries seem to be the rarest and most expensive going for about 14 euro / liter. Lingonberries grow like crazy here but won't be really ripe for picking for a week or two.

Berry picking is hard work, and there are special tools that make it easier. Really all you need is an afro pick and a bucket. Or one of these to be a pro.