Summertime: Stories about Life in the Holler
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| A nice little clump of Golden Oysters. |
It's been a hot July here in Pennsylvania. It's been a hot year. And dry. Very dry. We've had to hand-water our gardens every night just about all Spring, and now into the Summer. Today it's in the mid 90s, sunny hot and humid, a day that calls for a seat in front of the fan. But it's wineberry season, and it's our only day off, so we head out into the inferno to pick berries.
Out the door, we head up the short but steep path to the top of our driveway, which is lined with berry brambles. We're immediately soaked through our shirts in sweat, but the first few berries picked and eaten help ease that reality. We meander down the hill of our driveway, out and around the small shared field at the far end of our property, and back and forth to cover some odd patches here and there. Our fingers are stained a startling red from the juice of overripe berries that explode upon our touch.
It's fun filling our baskets, but it's fairly brutal, with sweat stinging our bramble-scratched arms, but we've got a few pounds of berries, and our favorite part of this tradition awaits. Then suddenly, as I've scoured that far reach of field, I notice a nice clump of mushrooms. They're Golden Oysters, and they're fresh, edible, and delicious. Score! I excitedly run them over to show Jillian, then walk them over to the house for later. And now it's on to our favorite part of the day.
The Creek! Our land is long and narrow, just about three acres, and a small creek runs its length. With berry buckets in hand, we walk back to the far end, and scurry through the brush and into the creek. The cool water immediately drops our body temperature and lightens our spirits. Thus begins our creek walk.
Over the next hour or so, we slowly plot our way up the little creek, feet in the water, berry bushes lining the sides. From the water, we reach up to pick more berries: half in the basket, half in our bellies. We find the sweetest sun-ripened blackberries that we've ever tasted, and giggle as we gobble them down. We find two new Elder stakes that we planted a couple of years ago, alive and thriving, and we thought they didn't make it. More surprises!
We reach the other end of the creek, where it spills out of a tunnel through the old railway bank that went to the old quarry. It's now the hottest part of the day, and we need to stay cool. Back down creek we go, to the Confluence of two creeks near the chicken and duck pen. It's deep there, and we drop our clothes on the ground, find two large rocks, and plop our butts down on them right in the water. A beer and conversation lasts another hour, connection in the water.
Now we're getting hungry, and those mushrooms are waiting! Back to the kitchen, where we prepare the wild shrooms very simply: a loose chop, a light fry in olive oil, then topped with a fresh-made garlic and herb butter. A big plate to share with a lovely bottle of Cider, and we were in our happy place.
Then, to our surprise, thunder! "Is it going to rain?" Jillian excitedly asked. Sure enough, a steady rain starts, and you can feel the earth and plants sighing in relief. We're pretty excited too, so off come our clothes again, for a trot through the rain. Laughing and skipping, we let the water soak us until a chill starts to creep in. Finally... we're cooled off.
Summertime!
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