Beautiful U.P. and Wild Thimbleberries

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a place of refreshment for me. I have lots of family memories. When I was a child, my family made a trip to the U.P. every summer, to visit my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. 

During a couple of these vacation trips, my Dad took my brother and I fishing early in the morning. We sat in the boat with fishing rods waiting for a fish to bite. My Dad cleaned the fish we caught and my mother fried them for a meal the same day.

As a family we spent time at the beach swimming and visited the rock-strewn shore of Lake Superior. We hiked in the state parks. We picked strawberries for strawberry shortcake.

The raw beauty of the forests, wild flowers, lakes and rivers have made a lasting imprint and I continue to go back.

After I married, my family continued the tradition of spending a week or two in Upper Michigan. We discovered the wild thimbleberries that make a lovely jam. While my children were young, they didn’t mind treks through wooded areas to find the berries. Grandma and Grandpa often led the search for the best berry patches.

We brought the days’ berries home and then sat around a table, cleaning the berries. Grandma and I made the jam. We would have enough jars to see us through the winter.

The thimbleberry bushes are in bloom now. The white blossoms are bright against the green foliage, shining brightly in the sunlight. At the end of July, beginning of August, the berries will be ripe.

It is good to make family memories. It can be spending time in nature, working together on a project, or playing board games together. Does your family have a favorite activity?

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