Season Lengths

Finding strawberries in the local farmers markets from April (sometimes even February) through October (sometimes November) shocked me the first year I lived in San Francisco Bay Area.  The next few years, it still seemed odd but marvelous, a gift from a stranger too enticing to be trusted entirely.

At the West Seattle Farmer's market over the Labor Day weekend, the paucity of berries reminded me just how fortunate we are.  A half-flat of organic strawberries will probably not hit $10 here, even at the end of the season.  And the vendor in Seattle made it quite clear that the following week would be the last for his area's season.

On the other hand, he offered an item I have never seen down here - fresh blackberries. They do grow wild in the Northwest, in alleys and yards and public parks.  Anyone willing to get scratched and sweaty can easily fill up buckets in August, and make pies into the winter.  Perhaps I should have picked some of those up . . .