A gooey Canada Day?

I suppose my celebratory image for Canada Day looks as though someone might have spilled maple syrup on the berries resting on this maple leaf look-alike. The gooeyness is just the result of a few squished berries. Because I didn't have a container when I picked them, I used the leaf they'd grown near as an impromptu wrapper.

They're thimbleberries -- a fragile and somewhat fleeting gift of summer, a forager's delight. Even the way that I came upon them was a surprising treat.

I'd had to have a test at the nearby hospital, and on my way home I took a shortcut through a parking lot. Along the undeveloped, non-street side, I ran across a plenitude of thimbleberries and couldn't resist picking a few.

These berries, native to our region, must be some vestige of a once-upon-a-time forest that was here in what's now a settled (though undergoing change) neighbourhood. I'm just glad some little piece of our native wildlife remains. Next year, if I want the taste of thimbleberries, I'll know where to go looking.

And if you'd like to know more, I'd encourage you to visit the site of The Northwest Forager where there's a video with lots of info about these berries -- even some interesting applications for the leaves!