IMG 7315-First alpine strawberry

this reminds me of the wild strawberries we used to gather on an open sunny hillside in the middle of the bush..they were tiny, but so good! not like the watery things in the supermarkets..all bulk and no flavour..we'd have them with cream milked from the cows that morning, dip our home made bread in the cream..wash everything down with green tea..thanks for bringing this all back to me..

Seems we had similar experiences, Pat, my pleasure! I remember my Mom crouching for most of a morning on a sunny hillside near our house picking these tiny wonders to give us a treat with our breakfast. Being children we were oblivious to the effort of picking these small fruit, but not to the true strawberry taste. I buy those "watery things" too and marvel that there is very little true flavour or sweetness and one has to wonder what else we are consuming along with it.

Taste divine, such an intense flavour.

So true, Siris. zingy! It takes so long to pick them and I can't resist, one for the cup, one for my tongue!
Where I grew up there were acres of wild blueberries too. My Dad (lovingly) called my Mom "the mother bear" because she could never pass up wild strawberries, blueberries and blackberries!
A Sunday drive along the back roads could mean preserved blackberries for dessert in January... or a blueberry pie with Monday's dinner! Then, Ontario Hydro sprayed defoliant along the country roads (under the Hydro wires) ..and you can guess the rest. No more fresh, free fruit.

Oh dear, the tastes of our youths, all gone.

Sad, and so many folk with serious diseases as a result.. Most all of the neighbours, and their children, who lived along that road have succumbed to one cancer or another. It takes a lifetime to accumulate. Gone, indeed. :-(