Picking Huckleberries...are they *really* worth it?

As a child, I HATED picking berries. The bugs, the heat, the weeds…yuck. And still I hate picking berries for these same reasons, but when you find that monster patch, it’s ALL worth it. After all, that’s what they make long sleeve pants, shirts, bug spray and suntan lotion for. Actually, It makes me wonder what bear’s treat onto which I have stumbled. It makes me wonder about all the pickers before me who screamed out loud with joy when they foud their motherload. It’s just an indescribable feeling. I’m a man of little emotion but the sight of a thick hucklberry patch moves me to scream at the top of my lungs like a litte school girl. I mean, any picker will tell ya, the hucklberry is a *VERY* delicate shrub. It takes the perfect storm for the berry to fruit, and even more unique conditions for it to fruit in abundance. They can’t be farmed. They are only found in very few places on Earth and God has blessed the Inland NW as huckleberry country. It is one of the many treats left here for us to enjoy. I like to call it “Nature’s Candy.” And may we all be blessed with bugs, heat, weeds, and last, but obviously not least, lots of huckleberries this summer.