Staying Currant

On the last day of our cousins' visit, we took a hike around the Eagle River Nature Center. We were hoping to locate a geocache that is hidden in there about a mile in. However, we decided it must be down the trail which was blocked by a sign saying "No Public Use: Bears in Area". Pesky bears.

So we contented ourselves to just enjoy the woods and gather some currants along the way. I hadn't brought a bucket, so we gathered them in the pocket of my sweater.

We hiked to the log cabin which you can rent. A family was staying there but were welcoming and we chatted with them for a little while. They had a 4-year old boy named Alex with whom Alicia May became fast friends. We turned around and they had both scaled the ladder to the top bunk and were having a grand old time.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I decided to take a closer look at our yard. Lo and behold... tons of ripe juicy currants! Not only that, but high-bush cranberries and loads of watermelon berries... Here I'd been struggling to gather little pockets of berries all over the state and my backyard is full of them! (No blueberries, but lots of others...)

I have a recipe for a red currant pie which I intend to make once I acquire a lemon from which to scrape the zest...